Salmonella, Salmonellosis and Its Hazards
After BFAD released a list of peanut butter food products contaminated by salmonella, a follow-up article on what salmonella is all about is in order.
First off, what is Salmonella? Why is Salmonella dangerous to public health? Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped bacteria that causes Salmonellosis and Typhoid fever. These bacteria can be seen in raw or half-cooked pork, chicken, beef, and eggs from infected hens and various vegetables.
The Salmonellosis outbreak in America is a food borne infection. It was caused by improper food handling in the Peanut Corporation of America. But Salmonellosis can also be caused by ingestion of raw or half-cooked food that is contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.
Symptoms usually appear 12-72 hours after infection. The common signs and symptoms are dizziness, headache, fever, chills, abdominal cramps and loose bowel movement with mucus on the stool.
Diagnosis of Salmonellosis is done through blood culture, stool culture and Widal’s Test (a presumptive serological test that detects antibodies against O-somatic and H-flagellar antigens).
While waiting for diagnostic test result, Salmonellosis is treated symptomatically by reducing fever and giving intravenous fluids to counter dehydration. If diagnosis is positive of Salmonella, patient is given antibiotics against gram-negative enteric rod bacteria.
If left untreated, infected person may lead to severe dehydration. Salmonella bacteria may also invade the blood stream causing systemic infection that may lead to death. Prompt treatment is needed. Salmonellosis can be prevented by cooking food adequately, sanitary food handling, frequent hand washing, and proper human and animal waste disposal.
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Tags: health, health tips, Salmonella and Salmonellosis, Tips on How to Prevent Salmonella Infection
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