What is salmonellosis?
	What is Salmonella Enteritidis?
	Where is Salmonella Enteritidis found in eggs?
	Who is at risk of getting infected with Salmonella Enteritidis?
	Tips for safe storing, handling and cooking of eggs
	External links and resources

Salmonellosis is an infection of the intestines caused by a bacteria called Salmonella. Symptoms usually develop 12-72 hours after the bacteria are swallowed.

There are over 2,000 types of Salmonella. Salmonella Enteritidis is one specific type that is often acquired by eating raw or undercooked eggs. Although Salmonella Enteritidis has been a problem in the United States for many years, Washington State and King County have had very few cases relative to the rest of the country. Since December 2002, however, there has been a marked increased in the number of cases of Salmonella Enteritidis in both Washington State and King County.

Salmonella Enteritidis can be found both on the outside and on the inside of the egg. Since the 1970s, when cleaning and inspecting of eggs was implemented, contamination of the outer eggshell is rare. But Salmonella Enteritidis infects the ovaries of healthy chickens and can contaminate the inside of eggs before the shells are formed. The good news is that if a contaminated egg is well cooked, the cooking process destroys the bacteria.

Although anyone person can become infected with Salmonella, the elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to get this infection and are more likely to have a severe illness.

What can you do to protect yourself and your family from egg-associated salmonellosis? Safe handling and cooking of eggs will keep you and your family from getting salmonellosis.

• Keep eggs refrigerated.
• Discard cracked or dirty eggs.
• Wash hands and cooking utensils with soap and water after contact with raw eggs.
• Eat eggs promptly after cooking. Do not keep eggs warm for more than 2 hours.
• Refrigerate unused or leftover egg-containing foods.
• Avoid eating raw eggs in foods like cookie dough, cake or brownie mix, homemade ice cream, mayonnaise or eggnog. Commercially manufactured ice cream, mayonnaise and eggnog are made with pasteurized eggs and are safe.
• Avoid restaurant dishes made with raw or undercooked unpasteurized eggs. Restaurants should use pasteurized eggs in any recipe (such as Hollandaise sauce or Caesar salad dressing) that calls for pooling (or grouping) of more than three raw eggs.

• To listen to more information on general salmonellosis, call the Communicable Disease hotline at 206-296-4949, select tape #2, then select "2" for Salmonella Information.
  
  
• Jan. 21, 2003 press release by the Washington State Department of Health on "Unusual number of Salmonella cases leads to health investigation".
  www.doh.wa.gov/Publicat/2003_News/03-015.htm
  
  
• Salmonella enteritidis fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/salment_g.htm
  
  
• Consumer advice on eggs from Foodsafety.gov
  www.foodsafety.gov/~fsg/eggs.html