Salmonella is a group of bacteria that can affect animals and humans
Salmonella is a group of bacteria that can affect animals and humans. All Salmonella infections begin with the ingestion of organisms in contaminated food or water. Our stomach contains gastric acidity, but salmonella exhibits an adaptive acid-tolerance response on exposure to low PH levels. Salmonella is a bacterium that cause disease such as salmonella typhi that cause typhoid fever. This infection is usually contracted by eating bad or spoiled food and many factors can cause food to be bad for us to ingest. This does not necessarily mean food that taste bad but food that has not been cocked properly or has not been stored properly. There is a high risk of getting Salmonella with uncooked food. Most individuals who are infected with Salmonella develop symptoms such as diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain within 12-72 hours of being in contact with the infection. The illness can last up to a week or even more. Salmonella is a common bacterial infection that lives in animal and human intestine, it is transported through contaminated food or water and it is best prevented by taking extreme caution when dealing with consumption of meat, eggs, poultry and eggs.
Salmonella Background
The bacteria were identified in 1800’s. This illness was named after an American scientist named Daniel Elmer Salmon, a veterinary pathologist. This illness comes from a Gram-negative bacterium which there are about 2500 types of bacteria species. Specifically, Salmonella is caused by the subspecies bacteria Salmonella Enterica. According to the article, Deadly Salmonella Strain by M.J. Friedrich, the word salmonella relates to a family bacteria that triggers illnesses in human beings (2012). Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella enteritidis are the most common in the United States (Friedrich, 2012). When this illness was discovered in the 1980’s, S. Enteritidis infection was mostly derived by people in the United States who often traveled to foreign places. S. Enteritidis infection outbreaks mostly in the northeastern part of the United States. In essence, Salmonella is one of the most common causes of intestinal infections in the United States and it mostly lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and animals, including bird species.
Exposure of Salmonella
It is estimated that millions of Salmonella cases occur every year, resulting into over 100,000 deaths. In the article “Salmonella Remains No. 1 Food borne illness” (2012) Salmonella is known to be the second most common intestinal infection in the United States. Salmonella can live quite happily in the intestine of many animals like cows, turtles, pigs, cats and dogs. In addition, this bacterium can also exist in birds such as chickens and ducks. Animals feather or fur can be contaminated by the bacteria. From these sources, bacteria can spread to humans either directly or indirectly. For example, it can spread directly to humans when they eat contaminated meat or animal products. Eggs that are not cocked properly can also increase the chances of ingesting this bacterium. Egg is a common factor of Salmonella outbreaks. In addition, it can also spread with direct contact with infected animals or environment. Moreover, salmonella can also spread indirectly. In the relevance to the article” Food Borne Illness amongst Health Care Workers, at a Central Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe, 2016: A retrospective cohort study. Sithole, Zvanaka, it describes a few ways of salmonella spreading indirectly is through infected water, other foods, utensils or touching someone’s hands that contains the bacteria (2017). Salmonella is so severe; the infection can also spread to others. Unfortunately, people can also have salmonella for a very long time without showing any symptoms.
As previously mentioned, Salmonella can spread with the exposure risks from animals. Pet animals such as reptiles and amphibians are one of the many animals species that can contain Salmonella germs in their body. In essence, anything that a reptile and amphibian touches can possibly be contaminated with Salmonella. Another problem is the increasing number of people who are choosing to raise live poultry in their backyards, either on urban or rural communities. Raising these animals or having them near our homes can be enjoyable, but can result with high risks of salmonella exposure. According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention, “Keeping Back Yard Poultry” states that it is very common for chickens, ducks and other poultry to carry Salmonella. While Salmonella does not necessarily make the animal sick, it does cause an effect when it gets passed on to a human being. The bacteria can spread anywhere from where these high-risk animals are present. Touching the germs can spread easily, which is a common yard that can lead to exposure risk.
The Toxicity of this foodborne illness
What can Salmonella cause? It can cause Two broad types of diseases which are Typhoidal and Non-Typhoidal salmonellosis. As stated by Tracy Hampton’s article “Salmonella” when Typhoidal Salmonellosis is ingested, it goes to the blood stream that can cause high fever, stomach, headache, loss of appetite, or a rash (Hampton, 2004). In some cases, these symptoms can lead to complications such as gastrointestinal bleeding or infection of the brain. The elderly and those with a weakened immune system are at a higher risk of complications. Non-Typhoidal is typically categorized as Gastroenteritis, caused by Salmonella types like Enteritidis, Newport, and Typhimurium. Symptoms of this illness are usually fever, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. According to Barbara Sheff, in the article “Salmonella” (2002), these symptoms occur within 12-72 hours of being exposed to the bacteria. These symptoms last for about 4-7 days. Although the disease can be quite mild, it can be severe in the young, the elderly and those with poor immune systems. In some cases, the diarrhea can be so severe the patient might need to be hospitalized. In other cases, the salmonella infection may spread from the intestines then into the blood stream and then into other body sites. It then should be treated immediately because at this extremity salmonella can cause death. Essentially young infants and those with a weak immune system are more prone to be affected by Salmonella more severely. Sometimes, the Non-Typhoidal bacteria can enter the blood and infect other organs such as the brain or the urinary tract.
As of April 15, 2018, reports from CBSN “206 Million eggs Recalled over Salmonella Concerns.” states that there has been a major Salmonella outbreak which causes the recall of 206 million eggs. The U.S. food and drug administration has alerted the possibility of egg contamination. Salmonella fears spark after a Southeastern Indiana farm is recalling these eggs that have been sold to nine states which include: Colorado, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. This possible contamination has caused an outbreak with the consumers that the eggs have been distributed to. Salmonella remains a fear even today, after 22 people have gotten sickened with the consumption of these eggs it is still necessary to take extreme caution when dealing with the consumption of foods that may contain high risks of Salmonella.
Salmonella Prevention
How can we prevent salmonella? Because salmonella is a food borne illness disease one of the most important ways of preventing salmonella is ensuring the safety of food. Ways we can insure that food is safe is by placing the food in areas that are clean. Another way of practicing food safety is separating cooked food from raw food to prevent cross food contamination. It is also important to cook food thoroughly such as eggs, poultry, and ground beef (Sheff, 2002). It is also necessary to keep food at a safe temperature and use safe water and raw materials to prepare food.
To prevent the risk of contamination, one should avoid high risks food such as raw eggs, raw milk and raw meet. According to the article “Patent Research in Salmonellosis Prevention” written by Lakshmi P. Santhi it exemplifies the idea that physical treatment that includes sterilization and chemicals help prevent the increase of bacteria (2012). Safety processes are being handled by US Government mandates with specific technology that helps prevent this bacterium. Chemicals such as citric acid, trisodium phosphate, gaseous ozone are great ways to combat against bacteria that prevents or destroys bacteria. Many countries have set up special technology to detect and control salmonella as well (Santhi, 2012). It is also essential to wash fruits and vegetables carefully if they are eaten raw. Another important factor is washing our hands especially when handling food and during food preparation. People with salmonella can spread the illness as long as the bacteria are present in their feces. People with salmonella symptoms should not prepare food for others and seek medical advice. It is also necessary to clean anything that made contact with raw food to avoid the spread of the foodborne illness.
In retrospective, Salmonella can come cause two diseases, Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella enteritidis are the most common in the United State. This bacterial infection is mostly found in uncooked poultry and eggs that have the bacteria in them. This foodborne disease from poor hygiene or great sanitary techniques. Raw foods such as meats and eggs have high risks of exposure. Salmonella typically live on the human or animal intestines and are ultimately released in the feces. The salmonella bacterium can spread rapidly, especially with direct or indirect contact with the contaminated source. There are more than two thousand types of salmonella bacteria, but only a few are the ones to cause the most common illnesses among humans. Gastroenteritis, Enteric Fever and Bacteremia are the most relevant salmonella virus to cause illnesses in humans.
