Salmonella Enteritidis is superior in egg white survival compared with other Salmonella serotypes

Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serotype Enteritidis is a major cause of egg-borne human salmonellosis. The ability to survive in egg albumen at chicken body temperature was hypothesized to be an important factor involved in the predominant contamination of eggs by this specific serotype. Eighty-nine Salmonella strains from different serotypes, belonging to 5 serogroups, were incubated for 24 h in egg white at 42°C. The number of Salmonella Enteritidis strains that were able to survive in egg white was significantly higher compared with strains belonging to other serotypes and serogroups that were tested in this study. These data add evidence to the hypothesis that egg white survival is one of the reasons why Salmonella Enteritidis is more predominantly isolated from contaminated eggs, and helps explaining why most reported egg-borne Salmonella outbreaks in humans are caused by Salmonella Enteritidis.