Translocated effector protein, SopE, leads to actin cytoskeletal rearrangements and membrane ruffling. Only a subset of Salmonella enterica serotypes possess sopE, with the majority of sopE-carrying S. enterica serotype Typhimurium associated with epidemics. Using real-time PCR and sequencing, sopE was investigated in the ten most prevalent serotypes of S. enterica in England and Wales in 2001. sopE was identified in S. Typhimurium definitive phage types 29, 44, 49, 204b and 204c, all of which either have been involved in major epidemics or are precursors of epidemic strains. The presence of sopE varied in the remaining nine serotypes, but was more common in the top four (Enteritidis, Virchow, Hadar and Newport). Nucleotide changes were detected throughout sopE and may result in altered specificity for certain signal transduction pathways. Since acquisition of sopE may play a key role in emergence of epidemic strains, detection of sopE could aid identification of those Salmonella strains with the potential for epidemic spread.