Salmonella enteritidis (SE)

Salmonella enteritidis (SE) is a bacteria that can infect poultry and other animals. It can also infect humans, usually from eating contaminated food, causing a range of potentially serious health effects.

SE is present and regarded as endemic in many overseas countries where there is production of chicken eggs. This type of Salmonella bacteria was considered to be largely absent from the Australian egg industry.

Recent foodborne outbreaks in humans and detections of SE on Australian egg farms has lead to major concerns within health, agriculture and food authorities, and the Australian egg industry at a national level.

Why SE is a problem

The most common source of SE for human infection is chicken eggs. SE bacteria can live in the reproductive tract of an infected chicken and enter the egg when it is formed, which is unlike other types of Salmonella. This means when the egg is laid, bacteria are already inside the egg and pose a risk to anyone who eats it.

Chickens infected with SE usually do not show any illness and there are no visible signs that an egg has SE bacteria inside it. When eggs are used in raw form, or only lightly cooked in food products, this does not effectively kill the bacteria.

SE infection in people can cause severe gastroenteritis and other serious health complications, which often requires treatment in hospital.

SE interstate

Health, agriculture and food authorities in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria are responding to cases of human infection with SE, which has been linked to infection with SE on egg farms in these states.

Further information about the NSW and Victorian SE outbreak can be found on the NSW Department of Primary Industries Salmonella enteritidis page.

SE in South Australia

Testing occurs on poultry farms in SA, monitoring for the presence of all types of Salmonella bacteria. SE has never been detected in poultry in South Australia.

Human cases of infection with any type of Salmonella are notifiable and are followed up by health authorities to determine where the infection came from.

Reduce the risk of SE on your farm

Egg movements

The most common way for SE to spread between farms is via movement of contaminated eggs and their packaging. Do not bring eggs onto your farm from any supplier that cannot provide details on the Salmonella status of their flock.

Exercise extreme caution if bringing eggs into South Australia from NSW, given the current outbreak of SE and the number of affected properties in that state. Biosecurity SA advises to never reuse any of the egg fillers from another farm.

Know the status of your suppliers

All movements onto your farm pose a risk of bringing SE and infecting your flock. You need to be vigilant in investigating the Salmonella status of all of your suppliers.

Chicks and pullets should only be purchased from flocks with negative test results for SE. Feed should be purchased from a mill that regularly monitors for the presence of Salmonella.

All suppliers should be able to provide you with documentation as to how they manage the risk of Salmonella. This allows you to make a decision as to whether these measures are appropriate for maintaining the biosecurity standards and minimising the risk to your farm.

National SE Monitoring and Accreditation Program

The National Salmonella Enteritidis Monitoring and Accreditation Program is available to all commercial egg producers in Australia. This provides evidence that the flock has been tested for SE and the test results were negative.

Egg producers accredited under this program should be able to share their test results with you, to provide assurance that they are monitoring for the presence of SE.

More information about the National SE Monitoring and Accreditation Program is available on the NSW Department of Primary Industries website.

Farm biosecurity

To effectively minimise the risk of SE entering your farm, you must follow a high standard of biosecurity practices at all times. Farms should have a documented biosecurity plan in place. The highest risk farms for SE are those with multi-age production systems.

Rodent and insect control

SE persists in the environment for long periods of time. Wild and domestic animals, insects, and rodents accessing poultry sheds can spread SE. All farms should have a vermin control program in place.

Rodenticide and insecticides must be used according to label instructions to comply with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) requirements.

Equipment

Any vehicles or equipment moving between farms or flocks can potentially spread SE bacteria. Only essential vehicles and equipment should be allowed access to your farm.

All vehicles and equipment should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, both inside and outside, before entering another property. This includes materials such as fillers and pallets. These should be either new or disinfected, otherwise they pose a risk of spreading SE between farms.

People

People can spread SE if they are infected with the bacteria, or if their clothing, boots or other items are contaminated. Farm workers and visitors should follow appropriate personal hygiene measures. They should not have contact with poultry at home or on other farms of unknown disease status.

If people accessing your farm have recently travelled overseas, appropriate biosecurity measures should be undertaken before they return. If they have had contact with poultry or poultry facilities overseas, it should be at least a week until they return to working on the farm.

Any persons with gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea should not work on the farm until their symptoms have resolved. This is of particular concern for people returning from overseas with gastrointestinal symptoms.

Staff working on the grading floor should not be entering sheds, particularly if they are handling eggs from multiple farms.

Visitors to the farm should be kept to a minimum. The risk each visitor poses should be determined before they enter the farm, taking into account their contact with other poultry or poultry facilities. Clean, sanitised clothing and footwear should be provided on farm for all workers and visitors.

Keep adequate records

All biosecurity practices on your farm should be auditable, meaning that you can prove they are undertaken by having standard operating procedures in place, and keeping documents and records.

All movements of vehicles, equipment, people, live birds and eggs onto and off the property should be recorded, so that if any problems are encountered, you can easily trace back to where they may have come from.

Vaccination for SE

Vaccines are available against Salmonella typhimurium (ST). There is currently no commercial vaccine available in Australia for Salmonella enteritidis.

ST vaccination may provide some cross-protection against SE. However, research has shown that vaccination alone is not an effective control strategy to prevent Salmonella infection in birds or humans.

It is critical that even if vaccination is used, high standards of biosecurity are in place to minimise the risk of entry and spread of SE.

Reporting SE

Salmonella enteritidis is a notifiable disease and therefore must be reported.

If you have any reason to suspect your flock may be infected with SE, or you have observed an unexplained increase in mortality or disease in your flock, please contact the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline.

More information

Emergency Animal Disease Hotline

Suspected disease or pests in livestock, poultry or aquatic animals must be reported immediately.

Call us to help stop the spread of animal illness, even if you are unsure of the disease.

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Freecall 1800 675 888
Page last reviewed: 12 Aug 2022

 


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