Salmonellosis

Salmonellosis is an acute intestinal infection caused by microorganisms of the Salmonella genus. Salmonella are resistant to freezing and drying, can be stored in water for up to 40-60 days, and in milk and meat for up to 4 months. The main reservoir of salmonella is animals; humans play a secondary role. The mechanism of transmission of the pathogen is fecal-oral/transmission route is food. A person becomes infected by consuming contaminated foods: meat, milk, especially eggs. Salmonellosis occurs throughout the year, but more often in the summer, which is associated with deteriorating food storage conditions.

The incubation period for salmonellosis is on average 12-24 hours. According to the clinical course, salmonellosis is divided into two large groups: gastrointestinal and generalized. Gastrointestinal forms of salmonellosis include gastroenteric and gastroenterocolitic variants of salmonellosis, and generalized forms include typhus-like and septicopyemic.

Gastroenteritis is the most common clinical variant of the disease. The onset of the disease is acute: nausea and vomiting appear, repeated and profuse. The stool is loose, profuse, foul-smelling, fecal in nature. The abdomen is swollen, painful in the navel area.

The gastroenterocolitic variant most often begins as gastroenteritis, and only then does damage to the colon occur; in this case, the disease may resemble dysentery. The stool is loose, mixed with blood and mucus.

The typhus-like variant usually begins as a lesion of the gastrointestinal tract, and then the clinical picture of typhus and especially paratyphoid increases. Body temperature rises to 39-40° C, intoxication increases; patients complain of weakness, headache; in severe cases, delusions and hallucinations are possible.

The septicopyemic variant of salmonellosis is, in fact, salmonella sepsis, and the clinical picture of this form resembles sepsis.

Diagnosis of all forms of salmonellosis is aided by isolating bacteria from the body and determining antibodies to them in the blood.

Treatment of salmonellosis:

1. Gastric lavage.
2. Detoxification.
3. Rehydration.
4. In severe cases, antibiotics: tetracycline, chloramphenicol.