Running head: SALMONELLA BACTERIA 1 Salmonella Infectious Disease Student s Name: Institutional Affiliation:
SALMONELLA BACTERIA 2 Salmonella Infectious Disease Salmonella refers to bacteria that causes salmonella infection in the intestinal tract. The most common salmonella infections are Typhoid fever, food poisoning, and gastroenteritis. Salmonella infection is a foodborne bacterial disease that affects the intestinal tract. The most common mode of infection is the consumption of contaminated food and water. There exists only two species of Salmonella namely Salmonella bongori and Salmonella enterica. Diagnosis of salmonella infection is by a stool test. Salmonella bacteria inhabit in animal and human intestines and are they are therefore present in the feces. They have the ability to survive in absence of a host. According to a recent Center of Disease Control finding, Salmonella bacteria are responsible for more than 1 million foodborne illnesses every year in the United States (Crump et al.2015). Actually, majority of these infections goes unreported. Only less than 30% are laboratory diagonised.salmonella infections have been linked to contaminated foods including cucumbers, chicken, eggs, pistachios, raw tuna, sprouts as well as pet reptiles. Salmonella outbreaks are one of the most prevalent infectious disease outbreaks in the world. Some notable deadliest salmonella outbreaks in history have been linked to raw chicken and turkey products as well as dairy products. Symptoms of Salmonella Infection After an incubation period of 5 to 72 hours, the bacteria reproduce in the small intestine, resulting to an intestinal inflammation. The most common Salmonella infection symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, chills, headache and blood in the stool and dizziness. However, the manifestation of symptoms depends on the health status of the
SALMONELLA BACTERIA 3 infected individual. For some people, salmonella infection have no signs at all while for others the symptoms appear within a range of 12 to 72 hours after contamination but can begin up to 2 weeks after exposure. Majority of healthy people recover from the bacterial infection without treatment within a few days while others, those with weak immune system including infants and young children, older adults, transplant recipients and pregnant women develop complications. Patients who chooses to partake hospital treatment may receive fluids intravenously to treat the dehydration. They may also be given medications to treat specific symptoms such as vomiting and fever. Typhoid Fever Sometimes the salmonella infection enters the bloodstream, a condition referred to as bacteremia. This may result in contamination of brain, heart, bone marrow tissues resulting in diseases such as meningitis, endocarditis, and osteomyelitis respectively. Salmonella bacteria can also enter the lymphatic system resulting in increased permeability, upset thermal regulation, vomiting, and diarrhea, a condition referred to as typhoid fever. In severe cases, patients loose high levels of liquid and electrolytes thus upsetting the body s water-salt metabolism and balance. This results to low blood pressure and circulation hence resulting to hypovolemic shock. The Long-term Effects of Salmonella Infection Research shows that in most cases, Salmonella infection patients develop irritable bowel syndrome later after recovery (Gordon, 2008). People recovering from salmonella infection are also likely to suffer from reactive arthritis characterized by eye irritation, painful urination as well as painful joints which can later progress to chronic arthritis. Moreover, in sickle-cell
SALMONELLA BACTERIA 4 anemia patients, salmonella infection may result in osteomyelitis. Those recovering from salmonella infection may become asymptomatic carriers The Causes of Salmonella Illnesses Salmonella bacteria inhabit in peoples', animals' and birds' intestines thus some salmonella infections results from consumption of feces-contaminated foods and drinks. Consumption of raw meat, poultry and seafood are one of the leading causes of salmonella infection. Meat and poultry may get contaminated with Feces during the butchering process while Seafood obtained from feces-contaminated waters cause the disease as well. Infected birds produce infected eggs; therefore, consumption of raw eggs may result in salmonella infection. Additionally, Fruits and vegetables especially grown through irrigation may contain salmonella bacteria if sprayed or washed with contaminated water. Even processed foods, such as nut butter, frozen pot pies, chicken nuggets, and stuffed chicken entrees can cause salmonella infection due to poor storage and poor hygiene during preparation. Research shows that the safety of spices is a rising concern because some salmonella outbreaks have been attributed to contaminants in spices (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008). Moreover, food contamination also occurs during preparation due to poor hygiene. Some people don't observe proper hygiene after visiting the washrooms. Salmonella bacterial infection can also be spread through handling carrier animals including pets. Salmonella Infection Risk factors With the recently increased salmonella outbreaks especially in developing countries, there is an increasing public health education to curb the outbreaks. However, there exists Factors that increase the risk of salmonella infection and a variety of health conditions that
SALMONELLA BACTERIA 5 hinder an individuals resistance to salmonella infections. To start with, frequent international travels, especially in developing countries characterized by poor sanitation conditions, poor health facilities as well as limited salmonella awareness, increases exposure to salmonella. Since salmonella bacteria are also found in birds and reptile, keeping pets increases the exposure risk as well. Secondly, Stomach disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease weaken intestinal lining thus creating favorable conditions for salmonella infection. Treatment of these conditions including consumption of antacids and antibiotics lowers the body s natural defense against salmonella infection by lowering stomach's acidity thus enabling survival of salmonella bacteria.the treatment also kills "good" bacteria responsible for fighting salmonella infection in the human body. Other medical conditions including HIV/ AIDS, Sickle cell disease, malaria, Antirejection drugs taken after organ transplants and Corticosteroids weakens the body immunity thus increasing the chances of salmonella infection. The infection is also prevalent in older adults, infants and pregnant women. Prevention of Salmonella Illness In order to curb the rising recurrence of salmonella outbreak in the United States, The Department of Agriculture has adopted a bacterial control plan specifically aimed at curbing salmonella spread. Through this plan, the inspection of animal slaughter has been enhanced to streamline the sampling and testing of animals for salmonella infection before slaughter. There has also been a rapid public health education on proper methods of preparing food and adequate hygiene during caring for infants, older adults and people with low immunity to curb the spread of salmonella bacteria. Thorough hand washing after bathroom use, changing
SALMONELLA BACTERIA 6 diaper, Handle raw meat or poultry, cleaning up pet feces and after handling reptiles transfer of salmonella to the mouth has been reduced. To prevent cross-contamination, cooking ingredients such as raw meat, poultry, and seafood should be stored away from other foods especially during refrigeration. Additionally, raw chicken or beef should be coked unwashed to prevent spreading the bacteria to other foods, utensils, and surfaces, and does not prevent illness. Poultry and dairy products should be thoroughly cooked, in high temperatures to kill bacteria. Raw fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed before consumption. Moreover, dishcloths should be thoroughly cleaned as well as regularly replaced. Since salmonella bacteria thrive best in warm conditions, Salmonella illness is more common during the summer. Therefore, there is a need to consume refrigerated foods during warm weather conditions. Perishables foods and leftovers should be refrigerated within 2 hours after preparation. People with weakened immune systems such as infants, older adults, pregnant women and people undergoing chemotherapy treatments should be kept away from pests to reduce the infection risk. Hygiene alone has proven insufficient in eradicating the risk of salmonella infection outbreak. There has therefore been massive scientific research aimed at identifying a vaccine against salmonella infection. In 2008, health practitioners in Malawi successfully identified a bacterial antibody in children (Gordon, 2008). This provided a key in developing antibodies that aid in killing salmonella bacteria thus salmonella vaccine. However, the development of this vaccine has been hindered by the decision by food and drug administration to prohibit the testing
SALMONELLA BACTERIA 7 of the vaccine through chickens. In countries where the tests have been embraced, salmonella vaccines have been successfully identified. However, some countries have successfully eliminated salmonella outbreaks through adopting Industrial hygiene. This involves focusing on reducing the infection from "breeder stocks," such as chicken and pets. The country takes zero-tolerance policy towards salmonella in animals through advocating for the many taking of pets to the veterinarian as the first step to ensure healthy families. Treatment of Salmonella Infections In most cases, salmonella infection symptoms disappear without treatment after a period of 5 to 7 days. However, patients need to consume plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration due to the vomiting and diarrhea associated. Antibiotics may be administered in cases of severe symptoms, in cases where the disease has spread outside the intestines and in vulnerable individuals such as older adults and infants to prevent the risk on the bacteria entering the bloodstream. However, antibiotics are not as thorough as they lead to antibiotic resistance and risk of infection reoccurrence. Governments Role in Eradicating Salmonella Outbreak Even with the above prescribed personal efforts to curb salmonella outbreak, the safety of the population depends strongly on the efforts of the collaboration of various local, governmental and non-governmental agencies that are mandated and dedicated to promoting public health. They are responsible for identifying, preventing and resolving potential salmonella infection risks. For example, in the United States, CDC is mandated with monitoring the frequency of Salmonella infections and formulating countermeasures by inspecting annual salmonella
SALMONELLA BACTERIA 8 outbreak reports presented by public health laboratories of state and local health departments. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the other hand is mandated with inspecting imported foods including inspection of milk pasteurization plants and restaurants and food processing plants as well as regulating the sale of pets considered Salmonella carriers. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is mandated with ensuring safe food animals, through inspecting egg pasteurization plants and regulating the quality of meat. Additionally, The US Environmental Protection Agency assists in the food safety initiative by controlling and monitoring the safety of drinking water supplies (Gordon, 2008). These collaborative efforts have played a crucial role in reducing salmonella outbreaks.
SALMONELLA BACTERIA 9 References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC. (2008). Outbreak of Salmonella serotype Saintpaul infections associated with multiple raw produce items--united States, 2008. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 57(34), 929. Crump, J. A., Sjölund-Karlsson, M., Gordon, M. A., & Parry, C. M. (2015). Epidemiology, clinical presentation, laboratory diagnosis, antimicrobial resistance, and antimicrobial management of invasive Salmonella infections. Clinical microbiology reviews, 28(4), 901-937. Gordon, M. A. (2008). Salmonella infections in immunocompromised adults. Journal of Infection, 56(6), 413-422.
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