Salmonella of the Enterobacteriaceae

 

A Rod shaped Bacteria !

Salmonella is a name that has found itself in the history of the world especially the ones from the medical industry . NO it has nothing to do with Salmon, but who would have thought with the size that is invisible to the naked eye could create such damage beyond our comprehension silently with the passage of time until it is too late. 

The Salmonella Bacteria (credits: foodsafetynews.com)

For those who might be wondering "What is that ? or I haven't seen anything like that before?" ,that is because these lurk in the realm of the microorganisms. 

What you are looking at is the one and only Salmonella Bacteria. Even though this bacteria is not considered relatively lethal compared to the other ones, the ignoring mindset itself prove to be very harmful. Salmonella Bacteria is a species belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae.

 

These bacteria is mainly known for creating outbreaks of foodborne illness, mainly due to consuming food items that are not clean, cooked or stored under safe environments and through contact.

 The famous American talk show host David Letterman's famous quote 

"You can't eat tomatoes because they're tainted with deadly salmonella. First there was tainted lettuce. Now, tainted tomatoes. Who would have thought that the healthiest past of Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich would be the the bacon?" 

perfectly describes the issues caused by salmonella and the trust issues it has produced between the customers and the sellers of the food industry.

Origin

Salmonella was discovered by Scientist Mr. Theobald Smith form the intestines of pigs that had contracepted the classical swine fever, which is considered highly contagious as well as very lethal disease. The bacteria was also isolated from the infected intestines by Mr. Smith during 1855.

[The name was derived from the last name of Dr. Daniel Elmer Salmon, an American veterinarian/pathologist who worked with Dr. Smith.] 

[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21553769.2015.1051243#:~:text=Salmonella%20was%20first%20discovered%20and,pathologist%20who%20worked%20with%20Smith.]

Mr. Theobald Smith (credits: USDA)

Salmonella is found everywhere and is a hardy bacteria (can withstand extreme situations), it can survive several weeks in dry environment and several months in water ! 

#SALMONELLOSIS, how did I get that though ?

The infection caused by Salmonella is called Salmonellosis. The disease is usually contracepted through 2 ways.

• Upon consuming contaminated food and beverages such as raw or undercooked meat including beef, egg, poultry and pork. And dairy products like unpasteurized milk.

• Through physical contact, this refers to the concept transmission of the disease from one to another through physical touch and yes this can include your beloved pets, food contaminated areas, improper management of garbage disposals and through another individual who has been infected as well.

[https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/salmonellosis-salmonella/causes.html]

Watch out for these symptoms !

One of the main reasons why Salmonellosis is considered dangerous is that you never know that you have it ! The symptoms for this disease can be easily ignored for the common discomforts that we have experienced commonly during our lifetime. Some of the common symptoms of Salmonellosis are as follows:

verywellhealth.com

One can usually expect symptoms after 6 hours and even 6 days after getting infected. But majority of the people recover within a 4 to 7 days time period that too without antibiotic treatment. 

But that doesn't need to be the case every time because each and every person's body anatomy and structure is different, some may prove to be prone to these bacteria and in that case it may be fatal.

Salmonella can be treated off quickly if it has been detected in its initial period. People who can be affected harshly by salmonellosis include young children who belong to age groups less than 5 and elderly people who are above 65 years of age, it can severely affect pregnant woman.

This is because their immune system are weak in these stages to prevent highly contagious bacteria-s such as Salmonella from spreading all around the body. 

[www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/salmonella-food.html#:~:text=Salmonella%20can%20be%20found%20in,%2C%20cook%2C%20and%20chill%20guidelines.]

Fighting off Salmonellosis !

Treatment

One of the major symptoms of contracepting Salmonellosis is vomiting and diarrhea which means the loss of body fluids on a large scale so it is important to monitor your illness constantly and maintain your fluid intake. However in severe cases you have to intake prescribed drugs and to inject fluid through veins. 

[https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/salmonellosis-salmonella/prevention.html]

verywellhealth.com

Some Preventive Measures

As we know Prevention is better than cure so its always not wrong to be attentive to one's health since it is the #1 priority.

Salmonellosis along with other food borne illness may be hard to understand or be a cause of concern for many . But the preventive measure for the same are simple.

You can specifically reduce the risk of contracting Salmonellosis as well as other food borne illness,

• By following basic food safety practices including eliminating the risk of cross contamination between non-veg and vegetarian food items as well as cooked and uncooked food items including dairy products.

• Checking the internal temperature to make sure that the food is cooked perfect

• washing your hands often and effectively, mainly when switching between food items during cooking to avoid contaminations.

• Avoiding coming to contact with infected people, not necessarily being salmonellosis only.

• Ensuring that groceries are clean and safely stored in safe temperatures depending on the item (check the instructions on the label)

[https://www.canada.ca/en/services/health/food-safety.html]

These rules and regulations might look simple, but are definitely playing an important role for preventing possible uncertain hazards. Therefore it is important to follow them for a safe future for you and your loved ones. 

Let us instill all these habits in the future generation so that any negative impacts that we have witnessed in our generation does not get repeated in the coming ones.

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