This article is about the bacteria. For the disease, see Salmonellosis. Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped Gram-negative enterobacteria that causes typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, and foodborne illness.[1] Salmonella species are motile and produce hydrogen sulfide.[2]
History
The genus Salmonella was named after Daniel Elmer Salmon, an American veterinary pathologist. Along with Theobald Smith, Salmon discovered the organism that causes hog cholera, Salmonella enterica var. Choleraesius.
Prevention
The prevention of Salmonella as a food illness involves effective sanitizing of food contact surfaces. Alcohol has proven to be an effective topical sanitizer against Salmonella. Quaternary ammonium can be used in conjunction with alcohol as a food-contact safe sanitizer with increased duration of the sanitizing action. Nonflammable Alcohol Vapor in carbon dioxide NAV-CO2 systems or sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) are frequently used to sanitize surfaces to prevent Salmonella. Food containing raw eggs should be thoroughly cooked before eating.
Antibodies
Salmonella antibodies were first found in Malawi children in research published in 2008. The Malawian researchers have identified an antibody that protects children against bacterial infections of the blood caused by Salmonella. A study of 352 children at Blantyre's Queen Elizabeth hospital found that children up to two years old develop antibodies that aid in killing the bacteria. The researchers, quoted in the Science and Development Network, say this could lead to a possible Salmonella vaccine. [3]
Salmonella-associated diseases
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Main article: Salmonellosis
Disease-causing Salmonella species have recently been re-classified into a single species, Salmonella enterica, which has numerous serovars. Salmonella Typhi causes typhoid fever. Other salmonellae are frequent causes of foodborne illness, especially from poultry and raw eggs and more generally from food that has been cooked or frozen and not eaten straight away. Although most non-typhoidal strains associated with food-borne infection are self-limiting and do not require antibiotics, complicated or systemic infection and infection with specific serovars (such as Typhi) are indications for antibiotic treatment and often hospitalization. The long-term usage of antibiotics in both the poultry and beef industries may have created a strain of salmonella which is potentially resistant to antibiotics.[4]
Salmonellosis can also be caught by handling reptiles such as iguanas or turtles. A CDC study also noted cases of salmonellosis in 2003 and 2004 associated with handling commercially distributed pet rodents. [1]
See also
References
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