Salmonella Infections

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Images

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Salmonella is the name of a group of bacteria. In the United States, it is a common cause of foodborne illness. Salmonella occurs in raw poultry, eggs, beef, and sometimes on unwashed fruit and vegetables. You also can get infected after handling pets, especially reptiles like snakes, turtles, and lizards.

Symptoms include:

• Fever
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal cramps
• Headache
• Possible nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite

Symptoms usually last 4-7 days. Your health care provider diagnoses the infection with a stool test. Most people get better without treatment. Infection can be more serious in older adults, infants, and people with chronic health problems. If Salmonella gets into the bloodstream, it can be serious. The usual treatment is antibiotics.

Typhoid fever, a more serious disease caused by Salmonella, is not common in the United States. It frequently occurs in developing countries.

NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Start Here

• Salmonella (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Salmonella Questions and Answers (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bacteria Culture Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Salmonella Diagnosis and Treatment (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Stool Tests (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Enjoying Homemade Ice Cream without the Risk of Salmonella Infection (Food and Drug Administration)
• Salmonella and Eggs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Salmonella Prevention (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Shell Eggs from Farm to Table (Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service)
• Typhoid Vaccine (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Backyard Poultry (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Reptiles and Amphibians (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Salmonella: Dry Pet Foods and Pet Treats (FAQ) (American Veterinary Medical Association)

Specifics

• Travelers' Health: Typhoid and Paratyphoid Fever (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Images

• Typhoid Fever (VisualDX)

Statistics and Research

• Novel Structure and Function of Typhoid Toxin (National Institutes of Health)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Salmonella Infections (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Typhoid Fever (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Salmonella Vaccine Study in Oxford (SALVO) trial: protocol for an observer-participant...
• Article: The epidemiology of fecal carriage of nontyphoidal Salmonella among healthy children...
• Article: Using SNP addresses for Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 in routine veterinary outbreak...
• Salmonella Infections -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• FoodSafety.gov (Department of Health and Human Services)
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Children

• Collecting a Stool Sample for Testing (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Salmonella Infections (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Salmonella enterocolitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Typhoid fever (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Typhoid Vaccine (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish