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Picture 1: Salmonella
HISTORY OF SALMONELLA
The Salmonella was discovered in 1985 from pigs with hog cholera. by medical research
scientist Theobald Smith who was working as a research laboratory assistant in the Veterinary
Division of the United States Department of Agriculture. The department was under the
administration of Daniel Elmer Salmon, a veterinary pathologist. Hence the organism was named
Salmonella. It was found that the organism is the causal agent for cause of hog cholera and
named Salmonella.
TAXONOMY OF SALMONELLA
The genus Salmonella is part of the family of Enterobacteriaceae. Its taxonomy has been
revised. It comprises two species, Salmonella bongori and Salmonella enterica, the latter of
which is divided into six subtypes: enterica, salamae, arizonae, diarizonae, houtenae and indica.
The bongori species has no subtypes. The taxonomic group contains more than 2500 serovars,
defined on the basis of the somatic O (lipopolysaccharide) and flagellar H antigens (Kauffman
White classification). Kauffmann-White scheme classifies Salmonella according to three major
antigenic determinants composed of flagellar H antigens, somatic O antigens and virulence (Vi)
capsular K antigens. This was adopted by the International Association of Microbiologists in
1934. The full name of a serovar is given as, for example, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica
serovar Typhimurium, but can be abbreviated to Salmonella Typhimurium.
Super kingdom: Bacteria
Kingdom: Bacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria
Class: Gammaproteobacteria
Order: Enterobacteriales
Family: Enterobacteriaceae
Genus: salmonella
Species: S. bongo, S. enterica
MORPHOLOGY OF SALMONELLA
Picture 2: Salmonella
They are facultative anaerobes as they also obtain energy from reduction reactions using
organic sources, and are facultative anaerobes.
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF SALMONELLA
Salmonella are found worldwide in both cold-blooded and warm-blooded animals, and in the
environment.
Salmonella are primarily intestinal parasites of humans and many animals including wild
birds, domestic pets and rodents; they may be isolated from their blood and internal organs.
Found frequently in sewage, rivers and other waters and soil in which they do not multiply
significantly.
Under suitable conditions they may survive in waters and for years in soil
Have been isolated from many foods, vegetables and fruit and are important contaminants of
animal protein feed supplements.
CHARACTERITICS OF SALMONELLA
They can multiply under various environmental conditions outside the living hosts so they
are non-fastidious.
They do not require sodium chloride for growth, but can grow in the presence of 0.4 to 4%.
Most Salmonella serotypes grow at temperature range of 5 to 47C with optimum
temperature of 35 to 37C but some can grow at temperature as low as 2 to 4C or as high as
54C
They are sensitive to heat and often killed at temperature of 70C or above.
Salmonellae grow in a pH range of 4 to 9 with the optimum between 6.5 and 7.5.
Many strains are protrophic which are capable of growing on a glucose - ammonium
minimal medium while some are auxotrophic that require enrichment of some amino acids
SALMONELLA AS PATHOGENS
Salmonella species are facultative intracellular pathogens. They can be divided into two groups
typhoidal and nontyphoidal Salmonella serovars. These are as follows:-
They are most common. They cause self-limiting gastrointestinal disease such as diarrhea They
can infect a range of animals. They are zoonotic, that can be transferred between humans and
other animals. Infection with nontyphoidal serovars of Salmonella will generally result in food
poisoning. Infection usually occurs when a person ingests foods that contain a high concentration
of the bacteria. This disease is most common in infants and young children.
Pathogenesis of gastrointestinal disease
Sight of infection is the small or large intestine. Nontyphoidal serovars preferentially enter M
cells on the intestinal wall by bacterial-mediated endocytosis, a process associated with intestinal
inflammation and diarrhea. They are also able to disrupt tight junctions between the cells of the
intestinal wall, impairing their ability to stop the flow of ions, water and immune cells into and
out of the intestine. The combination of the inflammation caused by bacterial-mediated
endocytosis and the disruption of tight junctions is thought to contribute significantly to the
induction of diarrhea.
Typhoidal serovars include Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi A, which are adapted to
humans and do not occur in other animals. Typhoid fever is caused by Salmonella serotypes
which are strictly adapted to humans or higher primatesthese include Salmonella Typhi,
Paratyphi A, Paratyphi B and Paratyphi C. These causes illness such as Typhoid fever,
Paratyphoid fever and food borne illness.
Pathogenesis of typhoidal salmonella infection:Salmonellae are also able to breach the intestinal barrier via phagocytosis and trafficking by
CD18-positive immune cells, which may be a mechanism key to typhoidal Salmonella infection.
This is thought to be a more stealthy way of passing the intestinal barrier, and may therefore
contribute to the fact that lower numbers of typhoidal Salmonella are required for infection than
nontyphoidal Salmonella. Salmonella are able to enter macrophages via macropinocytosis. In the
systemic form of the disease, salmonellae pass through the lymphatic system of the intestine into
the blood of the patients (typhoid form) and are carried to various organs (liver, spleen, kidneys)
to form secondary foci (septic form). Endotoxins first act on the vascular and nervous apparatus,
resulting in increased permeability and decreased tone of the vessels, upset thermal regulation,
vomiting and diarrhea. In severe forms of the disease, enough liquid and electrolytes are lost to
upset the water-salt metabolism, decrease the circulating blood volume and arterial pressure, and
cause hypovolemic shock. Septic shock may also develop. Shock of mixed character are more
common in severe salmonellosis. Oliguria and azotemia develop in severe cases as a result of
renal involvement due to hypoxiaand toxemia.
SYMPTOMS OF SALMONELLA
Lethargy.
Anorexia.
Diarrhea.
In chronic cases
Excessive thirst.
Conjunctivitis.
Indications of liver, spleen, kidney or heart damage can occur.
Salmonella are widely distributed in nature and they survive well in a variety of foods.
Poultry, eggs and dairy products are the most common vehicles of salmonellosis. In recent
years, fresh produce like fruits and vegetables have gained concern as vehicles of
transmission where contamination can occur at multiple steps along the food chain.
Environment contaminated with Salmonella serves as the infection source because
Following the direct transmission, moving animals such as swines, cows and chickens act as
the important risk factor for infection. These animal reservoirs are infected orally because
Salmonella normally originates from the contaminated environment and also contaminated
feed.
Human get infected when eating the food or drinking the water that is contaminated with
consumption are sometimes contaminated by raw sewage are the main sources of infection.
Aggravated by widespread use of animal feeds containing antimicrobial drugs that favor
hatching process.
The bacterium is shed from an infected bird in: Nasal and or ocular secretions, Fecal material
or Feather dust. This dust or aerosol contaminates the air that is then inhaled by another
possible host. Transmission may be primarily through the air. Salmonella spp. are mainly
transmitted by the fecal-oral route.
DIAGNOSIS
Diagnosis of Salmonella can be done by following ways:
BLOOD CULTURE :-
90% isolation in first week, Bone Marrow culture 100% in First week .Adults 8 ml to10 ml and
in Children 3 ml to 4 ml. Site of Venupuncture swabbed with 70% Alcohol and 1% Iodine for 03
minutes.5-10 cc blood collected in Syringe is injected through the stopper aseptically in Blood
culture bottle with 50 ml. of BHI (Brain Heart infusion).
WIDAL TEST:
2nd week onwards, 3 cc clotted blood is taken serum separated. Antibodies in patients serum
against O, H, and Vi (virulence antibody) are looked for by an agglutination reaction known as
widal test. Antigens like TO, TH. AO, AH, BO, BH are used. Serial dilution in 07 test tubes
are made of the patients serum: and mixed with antigen to look for agglutination reaction.
Increase in O titer means active infection. Increase in H titer means Past infection or vaccination.
Vi antibody is present in carriers.
In 2nd and 3rd week, Culture on Mac Conkeys medium, use Enrichment medium like
tetraethionite broth are used.
Other tests:-
TREATMENT
Treatment of salmonella infections is more successful if salmonella species is first determined.
Once the particular species of salmonella has been identified, the appropriate antibiotic can be
administered. Take following antibiotics such as:- Chloramphenicol , Ampicillin or
Trimethoprim Sulfamethoxazole ,Ciprofloxcin and Norfloxacin . Vaccines are available for
typhoid fever and are partially effective, especially in children. Initially TAB Acetone killed
vaccine. Now oral live attenuated vaccine by brand name VIVOTIF is given. Researchers say
they have paved the way toward an effective Salmonellavaccine by identifying eight antigenic
molecules from human and mouse infections. These antigens provide the research community
with a foundation for developing a protective salmonella vaccine.
Alexander the Great died mysteriously in 323 B.C. In 2001, a group of doctors at the
University of Maryland suggested that Salmonella was the cause of death, based on a
description of Alexanders symptoms written by the Greek author Arrian of Nicomedia.
Scholars working on the history of Jamestown, Virginia, believe that a typhoid outbreak was
responsible for deaths of over 6,000 settlers between 1607 and 1624.
Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria, died of a Salmonella infection in 1861. During
the Victorian era, an estimated 50,000 cases per year occurred in England
During The South African War (1899-1902), more soldiers suffered from typhoid fever than
from battle wounds. British troops lost 13,000 men to typhoid, as compared to 8,000 battle
deaths. Outbreak was largely due to unsanitary towns and farms throughout Africa, and
polluted soil was washed into the network of streams and rivers during the rainy season
Typhoid Mary Mallon was the first famous carrier of typhoid fever in the U.S. She was
hired as a cook at several private homes in the New York area in the early 1900s. Mary
Mallon caused several typhoid outbreaks, moving from household to household, always
disappearing before an epidemic could be traced back to the particular household Mary was
working in. She had worked for 7 families, with 22 cases of typhoid and one death. She was
finally overtaken by the authorities in 1907 and committed to an isolation center on North
Brother Island, NY. There she stayed until she was released in 1910, on the condition that
she never accepts employment involving food handling. But she was found to work as a cook
and to cause typhoid outbreaks again. She was admitted back to North Brother Island, where
she lived until her death in 1938.
accidentally mixixing of raw and pasteurized milk was reason for this outbreak.
In September 1984, 10 area restaurants in the Dalles, Oregon, were involved with outbreaks
of S. typhimurium.
Contamination of eggs and particularly egg contents by S. Enteritidis are believed to be a