Questions and Answers on Salmonella

What are Salmonella?

👉Salmonella are bacteria that make people sick. They were first discovered by an American scientist named Dr. Daniel E. Salmon in 1885.

How do people get infected?

👉Salmonella live in the intestines of people and animals. 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.

What illness do people get from Salmonella infection?

👉Most types of Salmonella cause an illness called salmonellosis, which is the focus of this website. Some other types of Salmonella cause typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever.

What are the symptoms of infection?

👉Most people with Salmonella infection have diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.

👉Symptoms usually begin six hours to six days after infection and last four to seven days. However, some people do not develop symptoms for several weeks after infection and others experience symptoms for several weeks.

👉Salmonella strains sometimes cause infection in urine, blood, bones, joints, or the nervous system (spinal fluid and brain), and can cause severe disease. Salmonella are a diverse group of bacteria.

Scientists classify Salmonella into serotypes (types) by identifying structures on the bacteria’s surfaces. Although more than 2,500 serotypes have been described, fewer than 100 are known to cause human infections.

 How is Salmonella infection diagnosed?

👉Salmonella infection is diagnosed when a laboratory test detects Salmonella bacteria in a person’s stool (poop), body tissue, or fluids.

 

How is infection treated?

👉Most people recover from Salmonella infection within four to seven days without antibiotics. People who are sick with a Salmonella infection should drink extra fluids as long as diarrhea lasts.

 

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.