Salmonellosis

Introduction: Have you ever been baking cookies and began to consume a chunk of delicious cookie dough? Stop! Cookie dough contains raw eggs and may have a bacteria called Salmonella enteritidis, which leads to an infection called Salmonellosis. This microbe is found in contaminated food, water and animals carrying the disease. This microbe has been known to be the cause of gastrointestinal illnesses over one hundred years. S. enteritidis was discovered by Theobald Smith, but ultimately named after his assistant Daniel Elmer Salmon. He is believed to be America’s first internationally acknowledged scientist. His work in epidemiology and bacteriology showed a bacterial species in swine which led to the discovery of the S. enteritidis bacteria.

Microbial Characteristics: Enterobacteriaceae are anaerobic, gram negative and are rod shaped bacilli. They have tail-like projections made of proteins that help them bacteria move called flagella. “Gram-negative bacteria do not retain the crystal violet dye used in the gram staining method due to the fact that they have cell walls that are thin. Gram-negative bacteria are often harmful to a host, which is the case for many of the S. enteritidis bacteria. S. enteritidis bacteria are between 2 and 5 micrometers long and 0.7 to 1.5 micrometers in diameter” (5). There are two types of Samlmonella bacteria: serotype typhimurium and serotype enteritidis. These two are the most common types in the United States. Salmonellosis is more prevalent in the summer than winter due to the fact that there are hotter temperatures leading to higher risk of food spoilage. Salmonellosis kills about four hundred people each year due to the development of severe symptoms from the bacteria. S. enteritidis and S. ...

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...ustry can be averted by providing food industry workers with education including preventative methods. Irradiation and other treatments can greatly reduce contamination of raw meat.

Data Analysis: Salmonellosis is reported frequently in late summer and early fall and the graphs portray this data. In 2010 and 2011, there were major spikes during July–October. Over many years, Salmonellosis has not decreased dramatically. There has been a steady amount of incidents, there are no major decreases or increases. Since many cases go unreported, it is believed that most Salmonellosis infections are transmitted by food. Starting in the year 2007, there was a decrease and then 2008 had an increase, and the ongoing years follow this pattern. When June transitions to July, there is a significant increase in incidents, due to the warmer weather and more frequent food spoilage.