Salmonella Typhimurium

A salmonella infection is a foodborne illness caused by the salmonella bacteria carried by some animals, which can be transmitted from kitchen surfaces and can be in water, soil, animal feces, raw meats, and eggs. Salmonella infections typically affect the intestines, causing vomiting, fever, and other symptoms that usually resolve without medical treatment.

You can help prevent salmonella infections by not serving any raw meat or eggs, and by not keeping reptiles as pets, particularly if you have very young children.

Hand washing is a powerful way to guard against salmonella infections, so it's essential to teach kids to wash their hands, particularly after trips to the bathroom and before handling food in any way.

Signs and Symptoms

A salmonella infection generally causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhoea (sometimes bloody), fever, and headache. Because many different kinds of illnesses can cause these symptoms, most doctors will take a stool sample to make an accurate diagnosis.

Symptoms of most salmonella infections usually appear within 3 days of contamination and typically go away without medical treatment.

In cases of typhoid fever caused by salmonella bacteria, early symptoms are the same. But in the second week, the liver and spleen can become enlarged, and a distinctive "rose spotted" skin rash may appear. From there, the infection can cause other health problems, like meningitis and pneumonia.