Mechanisms of egg contamination by Salmonella Enteritidis.
Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) has been the major cause of the food-borne salmonellosis pandemic in humans over the last 20 years, during which contaminated hen's eggs were the most important vehicle of the infection. Eggs can be contaminated on the outer shell surface and internally. Internal contamination can be the result of penetration through the eggshell or by direct contamination of egg contents before oviposition, originating from infection of the reproductive organs. Once inside the egg, the bacteria need to cope with antimicrobial factors in the albumen and vitelline membrane before migration to the yolk can occur. It would seem that serotype Enteritidis has intrinsic characteristics that allow an epidemiological association with hen eggs that are still undefined. There are indications that SE survives the attacks with the help of antimicrobial molecules during the formation of the egg in the hen's oviduct and inside the egg. This appears to require a unique combination of genes encoding for improved cell wall protection and repairing cellular and molecular damage, among others.
Gantois
Inne
I
Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Research Group Veterinary Public Health and Zoonoses, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium. inne.gantois@ugent.be
Ducatelle
Richard
R
Pasmans
Frank
F
Haesebrouck
Freddy
F
Gast
Richard
R
Humphrey
Tom J
TJ
Van Immerseel
Filip
F
D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D004531:Eggs / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000382:microbiology*; D012477:Salmonella enteritidis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D037521:Virulence Factors