Salmonella infection, or salmonellosis , is a foodborne illness caused by infection with Salmonella bacteria. Most infections spread to people through contaminated food usually meat, poultry, eggs, or milk.
Because many different kinds of illnesses can cause these symptoms, most doctors will take a stool sample to make an accurate diagnosis. Salmonella bacteria are often found in the feces poop of some animals, particularly reptiles. People who have these animals as pets can get salmonellosis if they handle the reptiles and get the bacteria on their hands. Salmonella can spread to people in foods contaminated by infected animal feces.
This can happen when foods such as poultry, eggs, and beef are not cooked enough. Fruit and vegetables can also be contaminated from feces in the soil or water where they're grown.
People with salmonellosis can spread the infection from several days to several weeks after they've been infected — even if their symptoms have disappeared or they've been treated with antibiotics. Not everyone who ingests Salmonella bacteria will become ill. Children, especially infants, are most likely to get sick from it. About 50, cases of salmonellosis are reported in the United States each year and about one third of those are in kids 4 years old or younger.
People at risk for more serious complications from a Salmonella infection include those who:. In these higher-risk groups, most doctors will treat an infection with antibiotics to prevent it from spreading to other parts of the body. Antibiotics do not appear to help a healthy person whose infection is not severe — and may actually lengthen the amount of time the person will carry the bacteria.
Because many different illnesses can cause similar symptoms such as nausea, fever, cramping, and diarrhea , doctors may send a stool poop sample to the lab for testing. A severe Salmonella infection will require more testing to see which specific germ is causing the illness and which antibiotics can be used to treat it. If your child has salmonellosis and a healthy immune system, your doctor may let the infection pass without giving any medicines.
But any time a child develops a fever, headache, or bloody diarrhea, call the doctor to rule out any other problems. If your child is infected and has a fever, you may want to give acetaminophen to lower the temperature and relieve cramping.
Salmonella uses a variety of unique virulence mechanisms to invade our intestinal cells and confuse our immune cells, leading to many of the key symptoms associated with food poisoning. Though there are only 2 species of Salmonella S. Salmonella enterica is further broken up into 6 subspecies based upon genetic similarity. Despite the large number of identified strains, fewer than Salmonella strains are suspected to be pathogenic.
Typhoid fever remains a global public health threat, but it is not common in the United States and other developing countries. The disease can be prevented by the typhoid vaccine. The primary serotypes associated with non-typhoid, foodborne gastroenteritis are S. In contrast to typhoid fever, which affects only 5, Americans each year, foodborne Salmonella gastroenteritis is estimated to cause 1 million illnesses per year.
Salmonella prefers to replicate and infect host cells intracellularly. Once Salmonella is ingested, it invades the epithelial cells of the intestine, as well as nearby phagocytic immune cells. Salmonella uses a variety of dynamic techniques to impair and confuse host immune cells, including its ability to induce phagocytosis in certain white blood cells, which allows the organism to gain entry into cells more effectively.
Login Toggle navigation Search. April 8, Share This. Though pathogenic serotypes can be very genetically similar , they can have different abilities to cause severe disease. What are Salmonella? What illness do people get from Salmonella infection? What are the symptoms of infection? Most people with Salmonella infection have diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. Salmonella are a diverse group of bacteria. How is Salmonella infection diagnosed? How is infection treated? Antibiotic treatment is recommended for: People with severe illness People with a weakened immune system, such as from HIV infection or chemotherapy treatment Adults older than 50 who have medical problems, such as heart disease Infants children younger than 12 months.
Adults age 65 or older Can infection cause long-term health problems? How do people get infected? People can get Salmonella infection from a variety of sources, including Eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water Touching infected animals, their feces, or their environment Who is more likely to get an infection and severe illness?
Children under 5 years old are the most likely to get a Salmonella infection. Infants children younger than 12 months who are not breast fed are more likely to get a Salmonella infection. Infants, adults aged 65 and older, and people with a weakened immune system are the most likely to have severe infections. People taking certain medicines for example, stomach acid reducers are at increased risk of infection.
What should I know about antibiotic resistance and Salmonella? What can be done to prevent antibiotic resistance and resistant bacteria? How common is Salmonella infection? Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States,
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