Causes
This infection is caused by bacteria known as Salmonella. These bacteria stay in the intestines of animals. The bacteria are passed over to human beings through eating food that has been contaminated by the feces of animals. Every year, reports are given of having more than forty thousand cases of people who have been infected with this disease in the United States of America. However, the true number of the infections may not be well-known and may even be more than twenty times greater for the reason that there is no reporting of the cases that may be mild. According to Minnesota Department of Health, taking the case in Minnesota, about 650 cases of this infection are reported every year (Para 2).
Signs and symptoms
The symptoms for this disease include fever, diarrhea and abdominal pains and cramps. The symptoms in most cases commence within a period of between 12 hours and 72 hours after one has been exposed to the bacteria. However, there are still cases where symptoms can be exhibited after a period of one week after exposure. The duration for the salmonella infections in most cases is five days to one week.
Transmission
The bacteria causing this disease are carried in foodstuffs. The foodstuffs that have been infected with the bacteria are mostly of animal source like beef and milk among other animal products. On the other hand, other foodstuffs such as vegetables May also not be clean but thoroughly cooking these foods can help in killing the bacteria.
Contamination of the foods can be done by the touching the food using unwashed hands by a person who is infected. These organisms can as well be traced in the stools of pets and if individuals don’t wash their hands after touching these animals, they can catch the disease Ducklings as well as reptiles have high chances of harboring the salmonella bacteria and therefore if people get in contact with these animals, they are supposed to wash their hands immediately. People should make sure that whenever the children get in contact with reptiles, they should thoroughly wash their hands.
Treatment
Treatment of this disease, in most cases, is carried out by rehydration and this is done by using intravenous fluids. In the cases where there are severe infections, there can be administering of antibiotics. Usually, the infections that result from this disease lasts for only about seven days and therefore sometimes there is no need to have thorough treatment in order to control the disease.
Diarrhea in the infected people may be entirely treated but it may take some time before the bowels come back to normal. On the other hand, there must be seeking for medical assistance in the cases where the patients are suffering from dehydration that is severe or in the cases where the blood stream has as well been infected or where the infection has moved to various body parts.
Among those people who might have been infected with this disease, a small number of them may go to a level of developing Reiter’s syndrome and this is a state marked with “pains in the joints, feeling pain during urination and irritation of the eyes” (“Salmonellosis/Salmonella Enteritis”). This condition may go on for a period of several months and in some cases it can go on for even years. This may in turn result in chronic arthritis. Chronic arthritis is a condition in which there can no response to any treatment that may be given to an individual having it. The condition can come about regardless of whether the infected person is undergoing treatment by using antibiotics or not.
Self-treatment in those people having diarrhea that is severe involves rehydration by using intravenous fluids that have electrolytes. The treatment of infants by using electrolytes may be carried out as breast feeding of the baby still goes on. Administering antibiotics is carried out only in the case where the infection has spread from the intestinal tract to other parts of the body. The antibiotics that are used for treatment include such drugs as ciprofloxacin, ampicilin, and sulfamethoxazole among others. (“Salmonellosis/Salmonella Enteritis”)
Prognosis
The prognosis for this disease is quite good because this infection is a self-limiting infection in more than 75 percent of those people who are infected. Infected individuals that are immunosupressed can still do well in the circumstances where there can be early diagnosis and quick treatment. Complications may come about in a case where the infection is brought about by serovars that are drug resistant and the patients may turn out to be dehydrated (“Salmonella”).
References
Minnesota Department of Health, Causes and symptoms of Salmonellosis, 2009. Web.
“Salmonella”, emedicinehealth. eMedicineHealth, 2010. Web.
“Salmonellosis/Salmonella Enteritis”, medindia. Medindia, 2010. Web.