About National Enteric Disease Surveillance

For Everyone

At a glance

CDC collects, analyzes, and disseminates national surveillance data on bacterial enteric illnesses to provide a national snapshot of the occurrence of infections transmitted commonly through food and other means. Our goal is to decrease the burden of acute bacterial enteric illnesses in the United States.

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Overview

CDC collects data on nationally notifiable enteric bacterial infections.

These infections include botulism (caused by toxin-producing Clostridia bacteria, including Clostridium botulinum), invasive Cronobacter infection among infants, and infections caused by Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella (including those causing typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever), Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), Shigella, and Vibrio (including those causing cholera).

Types of surveillance

National case-based surveillance

CDC conducts national case-based surveillance for botulism, cholera and other Vibrio illnesses (including V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus infections), Listeria infections, typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever, and invasive Cronobacter infections among infants.

State, tribal, local, and territorial partners submit case data for infections with nationally notifiable enteric pathogens through the System for Enteric Disease Response, Investigation, and Coordination (SEDRIC).

Case data includes information about the specific infection, such as symptoms of illness and when they started, demographic information about the ill person (e.g., age, sex, state of residence), and key risk factor information (e.g., travel, activities, foods consumed) for the specific infection.

National laboratory-based surveillance

CDC conducts national laboratory-based surveillance for infections caused by Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, and STEC.

State and territorial public health laboratories submit information about bacteria that have been identified by laboratory testing of ill people.

Laboratory data includes limited demographic information about the ill person and specimen information (e.g., species or serotype of bacteria, specimen source, type of test used).

Resources

Use CDC's searchable data tools for more information on enteric pathogens and diseases.

Content Source
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
About This Page
Published: October 15, 2024
Updated: October 29, 2026

This page was last updated on this date. Updates may include minor edits, image changes, or other modifications to page content.

Reviewed: October 29, 2026

The information on this page was last reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy.