A bacterium that infects the ovaries of hens that appear healthy and contaminates the eggs before the shells are formed.
A species that commonly causes gastrointestinal infections. Approx. 10% to 20% of food poisoning cases are caused by S. enteritidis. The organism lives in the ovaries of chickens and contaminates eggs before the shells are formed. The infection is passed to humans when they eat raw eggs (e.g., in homemade ice cream, salad dressings, eggnog) or cooked eggs in which the yolk is still runny. It also lives in the intestinal tracts of animals and may be found in water or meat that is contaminated with feces and is inadequately washed and cooked. Infants, elderly persons, and immunocompromised patients are at greatest risk.