The occurrence of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) phage types (PTs) in samples collected from healthy and diseased chickens, in outbreaks of human gastroenteritis related to the consumption of egg products, in samples of poultry meat, in pipped embryos of broiler chickens, in meat meal, in poultry-rearing environments, and in many foods (cheese, mayonnaise, cake, and bacon) is described for strains isolated from 1995 to 1997 in Brazil. SE strains were isolated, and the most common PT was found to be PT 4, followed by PTs 7, 21, 35, 6, 4a, 8, 30, 6a, 5a, 1, and 1b. Fourteen strains were classified as react-but-do-not-conform strains, and one strain was not typeable. The results of this study demonstrate that PT 4 has a wider distribution among the sources studied than do any other SE phage types and is the most important phage type in human salmonellosis.

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