Salmonellosis is an infectious type pathology that is produced by enterobacteria belonging to the genus Salmonella. This encompasses a set of clinical pictures whose main expression is acute gastroenteritis, a very frequent food infection that occurs from ingesting contaminated water and food, especially meat. Both salmonellosis and the Salmonella genus are a Latinization of Daniel's name Elmer Salmon, who was a prominent veterinarian from the United States.
Once the bacteria is introduced into the body, it moves to the stomach, where the acidity of the stomach juices has the ability to neutralize the salmonella, but despite this, some serotypes are more aggressive and can survive this barrier, managing to pass to the intestine where there are ideal conditions to favor its development, especially if the patient is weakened, has a chronic pathology, or has recently received antibiotic treatment, which affects the normal bacterial flora.
- Salmonella are found in abundance in domestic and wild animals. They tend to be prevalent in edible animals such as poultry, pigs and cattle, as well as in pets, such as cats, dogs, turtles, etc.
- These can traverse the entire food chain, moving from animal feed and primary production to households or establishments where food is sold.
- They generally contract salmonellosis through the consumption of contaminated foods of animal origin, among which eggs, meats, poultry and certain dairy products stand out. However, it is important to note that there are other foods that are related to transmission, some of which are not vegetables contaminated by organic waste from animals.
In the most serious cases, the treatment used is the replacement of electrolytes that is lost due to vomiting, diarrhea and rehydration. On the other hand, it is important to note that systemic antimicrobial therapy is not the most recommended for moderate cases in healthy people. The reason for this is that the antimicrobials may not completely eliminate the bacteria and select for resistant strains, which causes the drug to lose its effectiveness.
