Salmonella infections

[Vania]

The gram-negative bacteria Salmonella typically cause diarrhea and sometimes cause a more serious infection, typhoid fever.

People are usually infected when they eat contaminated food, such as undercooked chicken or eggs.
The bacteria usually infect the digestive tract but can travel through the bloodstream and infect other parts of the body.
People have nausea and crampy abdominal pain, followed by watery diarrhea, fever, and vomiting.
Identifying the bacteria in a sample, usually of stool, confirms the diagnosis.
Lost fluids are replaced.
Antibiotics are usually not helpful for people who have Salmonella intestinal infections, but antibiotics are helpful for people who are at risk of or have bacteremia.

(See also Overview of Bacteria.)
Salmonella bacteria cause several types of infection. Most often, these bacteria cause gastroenteritis, but they sometimes cause typhoid fever, a more serious infection.
There are over 2,000 different types of Salmonella bacteria.
Some Salmonella reside only in people. Other species of Salmonella normally reside in the digestive tract of many wild and domestic animals, such as cattle, sheep, pigs, fowl, and reptiles (including snakes, lizards, and turtles). Many of these can cause infections in people.
Salmonella bacteria are excreted in the feces of infected animals and people, leading to contamination. In the United States during the 1970s, many infections were spread by pet turtles, so their sale was prohibited, resulting in fewer infections. Recently, the legal and illegal sale of pet reptiles has increased. Up to 90% of pet reptiles and amphibians, such as aquatic frogs, are infected with Salmonella.
People are infected usually by eating undercooked poultry or eggs but sometimes by eating undercooked beef and pork, unpasteurized dairy products, or contaminated seafood or fresh produce. Salmonella bacteria can infect the ovaries of hens and thus infect the egg before the egg is laid. Other foods may be contaminated by animal feces (for example, in slaughterhouses) or by infected food handlers who do not adequately wash their hands after using a toilet. People can also become infected if they drink contaminated water. Other reported sources of infection include infected pet turtles and reptiles and contaminated marijuana.
Because stomach acid tends to destroy Salmonella, a large number of these bacteria must be consumed for infection to develop, unless people have a deficiency of stomach acid. Such a deficiency may occur in

Children under 1 year old
Older people
People taking antacids or drugs that inhibit stomach acid production, including histamine-2 (H2) blockers (such as famotidine ) or proton pump inhibitors (such as omeprazole )

Salmonella bacteria cause inflammation of the intestine (gastroenteritis) and thus are a common cause of diarrhea.