What Is Salmonella?

Pedro_P

Salmonella is a rod-shaped bacterium that can cause an infection in the intestinal tract.
Credit: Shutterstock
▼ Salmonellais a group of bacteria that commonly cause a foodborne illness called salmonellosis. Every year, about 1.2 million people are infected withSalmonella, with 23,000 individuals hospitalized due to the infection and 450 dying from it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and  Prevention(CDC). Most people who get infected withSalmonellaget the bacteria from contaminated food or water.
There are more than 2,300 types of bacteria in theSalmonellagenus, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA).SalmonellaEnteritidis andSalmonellaTyphimurium are the most common strains ofSalmonellain the U.S. and are responsible for at least half of all infections.
Contamination typically happens after infected feces comes into contact with animals, crops or water and people then consume or touch those items and don't wash their hands.
Humans and animals typically have someSalmonellabacteria in their stomach and intestines, but stomach acid and intestinal bacteria generally kill theSalmonellabefore it has the opportunity to invade cells and replicate. Or, theSalmonellasimply exit the digestive tract before it causes problems, according to Medical Microbiology(4th Ed., University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 1996).
Causes
Salmonellacan be found in many food sources, including raw meat, undercooked or  improperly stored poultryand seafood, raw  eggs, fresh produce, and even spices, nuts and supplements, according to the Mayo  Clinic.undefined
"We should thoroughly wash fruits and  vegetablesto remove any contaminating microorganisms," said Sarah Fankhauser, an assistant professor of biology at Oxford College of Emory University in Georgia. "However, washing will never get rid of 100 percent of bacteria on a fruit or vegetable, and this is problematic if the fruit/vegetable has been contaminated by particularly dangerous bacteria, such asSalmonella."
A cantaloupe, for example, has a rough and porous surface, which can make it difficult to wash all the bacteria away, Fankhauser told Live Science.
Contaminated ingredients can also find their way into baked goods, such as cerealsand crackers.
Food can also become contaminated when people improperly handle it, by failing to thoroughly wash their hands after using the toilet, changing a diaper or touching a contaminated surface. Contamination can also happen if you prep produce on a surface where there was raw meat.
The temperature of the water you use when washing your hands can also make a difference. "Our bodies are 98 degrees F (37 degrees C), which is an optimal temperature forSalmonella, so 'warm' water will not killSalmonella," Fankhauser said. For that reason, it's best to wash your hands with soap and the hottest water you can handle.
People at an increased risk of developing aSalmonellainfection include young children, older adults, pregnant women, and people who have compromised immune systems or diseases of the intestinal tract, such as inflammatory bowel disease, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Healthy adults can also become more susceptible to aSalmonellainfection by taking antacids, which lower the stomach's acidity, or antibiotics, which reduce the number ofSalmonella-killing bacteria in the intestines.
Cases ofSalmonellapeak in mid-September, Fankhauser said, because warmer summer temperatures create ideal conditions forSalmonella, as well as many other bacteria.
Symptoms (▪ ▪ ▪)

► Please, continue reading the full note/article here: Source