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The
genus salmonella comprises a large, heterogenous group of motile
gram-negative bacilli that infect many animals and man.
As a group, they are enteroinvasive and
enteropathogenic and cause enteric fevers.
Three species, associated with three
distinct clinical entities, are identified; namely S. enteritidis
(salmonella enteritis), S. choleraesuis (salmonella septicemia) and S.
typhi (typhoid fever).Typhoid
Fever:click
S. enteritidis and S. choleraesuis are
found in wide range of animals, including reptiles, birds, and
mammals.
The only natural reservoir of S.
typhi is man.
Salmonella Enteritidis:
Salmonella
Enteritidis is a major cause of foodborne disease worldwide.
Gastroenteritis, caused by S.
enteritidis, is an acute, self-limited infection of the small bowel,
lasting 2 to 5 days.
Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal
pain, and fever.
Dehydration and electrolyte imbalance,
probably caused by an enterotoxin similar to that of E. coli, can be a
serious and even fatal complication in the very young and the very
old.
Organisms are isolated from stools for
several weeks, but chronic infection is rare.
Salmonella Septicemia:
Septicemia, usually caused by S.
choleraesuis, is characterized by prolonged fever and anemia.
Focal suppurative lesions in may
tissues and organs include osteomyelitis, pneumonia, pulmonary
abscess, meningitis, and endocarditis.
Visit
:
Infective Endocarditis
;
Bronchopneumonia
Old age, systemic
lupus erythematosus, malignancies, and immunodeficiency were common in
adult patients with nontyphoid Salmonella bacteremia.
There are no gastrointestinal symptoms
and the organisms are not cultured from the stools.
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