What causes salmonella food poisoning? Salmonella food poisoning is due to an attack on the small intestine or the stomach by bacterium known as the salmonella bacterium. A food poisoning which is due to salmonella bacteria is named salmonellosis in medical terms. Salmonella tend to be more common among elderly and children who have poor immune systems as compared to younger, much healthier individuals.
Improper handling of food could spread the salmonella bacteria that’s why food manufacturing personnel and food buyers have to take proper precaution when they are preparing food. As reported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an infection takes about two to three days before the symptoms appear. The most prevalent symptoms of salmonella include nausea or vomiting, abdominal pains, looseness of the bowels, and fever. These symptoms typically last for 4-7 days.
Facts About What Causes Salmonella
Salmonella bacteria can be found both on animal and human wastes. Salmonella bacteria may likewise be found on common raw foods such as seafood, unpasteurized milk and eggs. Salmonella bacteria can also infect meat products while in the butchering process. Fish caught in contaminated waters are typical carriers of salmonella. When contaminated water is used for watering fruits and vegetables, they can likewise be a potential carrier of salmonella.
Salmonella bacteria is able to live for long periods of time and is quite tough. As a matter of fact, this can make it through for several months in frozen foods, water, and even on ice. Although salmonella bacteria can survive in almost anything that people feed on, preventing what causes salmonella can be easily accomplished through the right food handling and cooking of food.
Snakes, turtles lizards, and some other reptiles can even be carriers of salmonella. The infection can easily spread when these kinds of animals are handled improperly. Actually, salmonella can even be seen in birds. Kids who play with birds are often more vulnerable to scattering the bacteria. Kids have to be informed or instructed to always wash their hands soon after they touched or played with birds in order to avoid contamination and prevent the spread of the salmonella bacteria. Sometimes, even domestic pets that aren’t often cleaned could possibly be contaminated with salmonella. Pet owners are advised by the Center for Disease Control to thoroughly wash their hands after getting into contact with animals especially when getting into contact with animal waste.
Treating What Causes Salmonella
Generally, when someone goes through salmonella poisoning, more treatment is not required. You may become ill for several days, but with the right medicine and health care, the symptoms should ease off. As stated before, vomiting and diarrhea are two of the common manifestations of salmonella poisoning, so increasing fluid intake is important to avoid dehydration and other complications. If dehydration does occur, intravenous hydration treatment will be necessary. Should symptoms continue to persist, it may be an indication that the bacteria have already reached other areas apart from the intestine, in that case antibiotic treatment is the option to use. Finding out what causes salmonella can provide you with the best treatment options to use against this common infection to have you feeling better in no time.
Take a look at Bill Burman’s website for other facts dealing with what causes salmonella along with everything you need to know about prevention of salmonella.