ProMED Mail reported on an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis among seventeen patrons of the Great Moon Buffet located in West St. Paul, MN. over the period June 26th through June 28th.  As yet, a specific food item has not been identified.

Thirteen of the illnesses were confirmed by laboratory examination applying whole genome-based serotyping. This technique is highly specific and may be regarded as a definitive procedure to correlate a pathogen isolated from patients with a food product or environmental contamination. The procedure is used routinely by the CDC and suitably-equipped state and regional public health laboratories to differentiate among serovars that may share a common antigenic formula.