What are symptoms of Salmonella infections?
Salmonellosis (gastroenteritis characterized by nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea) is the most common disease caused by the organisms. Abdominal cramping also may occur. Salmonellosis thus produces the symptoms that are commonly referred to as food poisoning. Although food poisoning is usually a mild disease, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea can lead to dehydration and even death (about 500 per year in the U.S.). It is important to note that many other organisms (for example, viruses, E. coli, Shigella) and toxins (for example, botulism, mushroom toxin, pesticides) can produce food poisoning symptoms. However, over 1.4 million cases of salmonellosis occur per year in the U.S., and the rest of industrialized countries have similar high rates. Countries with poor sanitation have a much higher incidence of salmonellosis. Typhoid fever occurs when some of the Salmonella organisms (often identified as S. typhi) are not killed by the normal human immune defenses (macrophage cells) after they ente
