If your doctor confirms that you have a salmonella infection, they might prescribe antibiotics. Take them exactly as directed, and be sure to finish the prescription.

Salmonella infection in a herd is also a significant public health risk to farm families, employees and visitors. This disease has serious economic, animal health and public health implications. Your veterinarian should become involved as soon as Salmonella is suspected. Children younger than five, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe salmonellosis infections. Learn more about People at Risk of Foodborne Illness. Foods Linked to U.S. Outbreaks of Salmonellosis Deriu E, Liu JZ, Pezeshki M, et al. Probiotic bacteria reduce salmonella typhimurium intestinal colonization by competing for iron. Cell Host Microbe. 2013;14(1):26-37. doi:10.1016/j.chom.2013.06.007

Past U.S. outbreaks of salmonellosis have been associated with meat products, poultry products, raw or undercooked eggs and dough, dairy products, fruits, leafy greens, raw sprouts, fresh vegetables, nut butters and spreads, pet foods and treats. Preventing Foodborne Illness at Home Cóilín Nunan, a scientific adviser to the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, said it was “particularly alarming that 70% of the isolates found have intermediate or full resistance to fluoroquinolone antibiotics”. He added: “Fluoroquinolones are highest-priority, critically important antibiotics which are key treatments for serious salmonella infections.”

Salmonella bacteria are widely distributed in domestic and wild animals. They are prevalent in food animals such as poultry, pigs, and cattle; and in pets, including cats, dogs, birds, and reptiles such as turtles. If you can manage to drink plenty of fluids then dehydration is unlikely to occur, or is only likely to be mild, and will soon recover as you drink. Severe dehydration can lead to a drop in your blood pressure. an outbreak in the adult herd. This typically happens when the entire herd is stressed at one time, such as during a hot spell, or when exposed to an overwhelming common source of the organism, such as heavily contaminated feed or a flooded barnyard.

How Does the Disease Spread?

Keep your birds out of the house and away from areas, including outdoor patios, where you prepare or eat food. Most people infected with Salmonella will begin to develop symptoms 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness, salmonellosis, usually lasts four to seven days and most people recover without treatment. Treatment in severe cases is electrolyte replacement (to provide electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium and chloride ions, lost through vomiting and diarrhoea) and rehydration. If your child has an underlying medical condition (for example, heart or kidney problems, diabetes, history of premature birth). In most cases, treatment focus should be on the correction of dehydration and electrolyte disturbances. Supportive care is necessary for acute diarrhea and dehydration symptoms. Antipyretic therapy may also be provided if needed. Uncomplicated NTS localized to gastroenteritis without sepsis symptoms is not treated with antibiotics except patients less than 3 months of age and patients with immunocompromised states. Once NTS gastroenteritis is identified, blood cultures should be obtained. In the setting of NTS bacteremia or disseminated disease, initial therapy should be with third-generation cephalosporins like ceftriaxone for at least 7 to 10 days. Once bacterial susceptibilities are known, antibiotic treatment can be transitioned to azithromycin or a fluoroquinolone. Duration of treatment may be extended in certain focal infections such as meningitis (4 weeks) or osteomyelitis (4 to 6 weeks).

Salmonella poisoning can be life-threatening, particularly for infants and elderly people. Although most people will recover without the need for antibiotics, the drugs are often recommended in the most serious cases. You should not give medicines to stop diarrhoea to children under 12 years old. They sound attractive remedies but are unsafe to give to children, due to possible serious complications. However, you can give paracetamol or ibuprofen to ease a high temperature (fever) or headache. For children: If your child has a healthy immune system, the doctor might just let the infection run its course. If they have a high fever, you may want to give acetaminophen. As with adults, they should drink lots of water.

Yes, especially in young children and the elderly. Most often, salmonellosis is characterized by nausea and vomiting within 8-48 hours of ingestion. Shortly thereafter, the patient will experience abdominal pain, cramps or diarrhea. The diarrhea may vary from a few loose stools to profuse watery stools or, rarely, dysentery (bloody stools). Patients may have moderate fevers (up to 102° F) and occasional chills. Both clinical outbreaks and subclinical infections of Salmonella can drain profit from the dairy operation. Salmonella infection in a dairy herd can lead to losses from: