Salmonellosis

What is Salmonellosis?

Salmonellosis is an infection caused by Salmonella bacteria.

Symptoms

People who get infected by the Salmonella bacteria develop dirrhea, vomiting, fever, typhoid and abdominal cramps. This normally happens within 12 to 72 hours after infection.


Cure

Salmonellosis normally lasts 3 to 7 days, most affected persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient becomes dangerously dehydrated, and must be taken to a hospital. Typhoidal Salmonella which can lead to typhoid fever is a very rare and should be treated with due care.


Causes

One of the common causes of Salmonellosis is interaction with reptiles such as turtles, snakes and lizards as they can carry the Salmonella bacteria on their skin.
It can also be contracted from poultry, pork, cattle, infected eggs, milk and egg products. Pet rodents can also carry the disease. Tainted fruits and vegetables can also carry the Salmonella bacteria.
Typhoidal Salmonella is only carried by humans, and is usually contracted through direct contact with the fecal matter of an infected person. It therefore mainly occurs in countries that do not have advanced systems for handling human waste.

Prevention

Turtles are commonly kept as pets. Make sure you don't handle them unless very necessary. One should also avoid touching their tank or aquarium. Always wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap after you touch your turtle or its tank. Same is with snakes and other reptiles.
Always be very careful while buying edibles especially meet, poultry, fruits and vegetables and purchase it from places that follow the standards of food. Keep them refrigerated in your home.
Throw away cracked or dirty eggs, and cook eggs thoroughly
Also wash your hands after you use the bathroom, also before eating any food and cooking something.
Wash hands immediately after handling raw poultry or raw eggs.


Name

Both Salmonellosis and the Salmonella genus of microorganisms derive their names from a modern Latin coining after Daniel E. Salmon (1850–1914), an American veterinary surgeon. He had help from Theobald Smith, and together they found the bacterium in pigs.


How common is Salmonellosis

Every year, approximately 40,000 cases of this disease are reported in the United States only. The actual number might be about thirty or more times greater as many mild cases are not even reported. It is more common in summer than winter. About 400 people die of this disease each year.
According to another source about 142,000 Americans are infected each year with Salmonella enteritidis from chicken eggs only and about 30 die. Please note that this is an estimate and not the number of reported cases as in the above paragraph the figure 40,000 was of the cases reported.