Salmonellais a type of bacteria that belongs to theEnterobacteriaceaefamily and can cause a foodborne infection known as salmonellosis if a person eats food that is contaminated with waste from an animal or person that contains the bacteria. Both domestic and wild animals can carry this bacteria, and it can be found in pigs, cows, and rodents. It is also found in reptiles such as turtles, iguanas, and bearded dragons. Some pets, including cats and dogs, can also carry the salmonella bacteria.
The infection is most likely to be mild and present with gastrointestinal symptoms such asdiarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting. Fever or headaches can also occur. These symptoms will typically appear anywhere from six hours to six days after the initial transmission and last for four to seven days. There are some instances, though, where symptoms can take weeks to show up or can last up to several weeks.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, salmonella is quite common and roughly 1.3 million people become ill with the bacterial infection each year in the United States.While the vast majority of cases are mild and lead to a full recovery, it’s estimated that over 26,000 of those who become ill will be hospitalized and 420 people will die.
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High-Risk Groups
Some people may become seriously ill or experience life-threatening symptoms, including:
Some people are also more susceptible to the illness if they come into contact with the bacteria, including:
Salmonella: Everything You Need to Know
Salmonella Complications
Even though salmonella complications rarely occur, they can be dangerous or even life-threatening.
Dehydration
Dehydrationis a complication that occurs due to the fluid loss that happens when someone has persistent diarrhea and vomiting. When a person continuously loses fluids and cannot replenish them, the body loses water and electrolytes. People who become dehydrated may require hospitalization if the fluids in the body become too low. Dehydration, if not addressed, can lead to serious complications, such as urinary and kidney problems,seizures, low blood volume shock, dizziness, and death.
Dehydration Treatment
Invasive Salmonella
If salmonella leaves the gastrointestinal tract and makes its way to other parts of the body, it is called an invasive infection. This type of salmonella infection can affect the blood, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and linings around the heart, bones, and joints. The following can happen if salmonella becomes an invasive infection:
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Reactive Arthritis
Although the condition is rare, it is not as rare as invasive salmonella and has been shown to occur in 4.4% of people who have the infection.
Typhoid Fever
Typhoid fevercan occur following an infection with theSalmonella entericaTyphi bacteria. It is more commonly found in young adults and children, though it can develop in people of all age groups. Roughly 200 to 300 cases of salmonella-driven typhoid fever are reported in the United States every year.
Although many people recover from typhoid fever, there are some complications that can happen in 10% to 15% of people that have the infection, including:
Typhoid: Everything You Need to Know About This Infectious Disease
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Research has also found that those without IBD could develop it after being infected with salmonella because of the permanent damage the bacteria can cause to the intestines and microbiota. Salmonella infections are also thought to affect the immune response within the intestines as well as lead to issues with the barrier of the GI tract.
Death
Prevention
The World Health Organization recommends that people follow these safety tips while at home, especially while traveling, toprevent a salmonella infection:
How Salmonella Is Treated
14 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Salmonella: questions and answers.Crump JA, Sjölund-Karlsson M, Gordon MA, Parry CM.Epidemiology, clinical presentation, laboratory diagnosis, antimicrobial resistance, and antimicrobial management of invasive salmonella infections.Clin Microbiol Rev.2015 Oct;28(4):901-937. doi:10.1128/CMR.00002-15Cleveland Clinic.Salmonella.Boore AL, Hoekstra RM, Iwamoto M, Fields PI, Bishop RD, Swerdlow DL.Salmonella enterica Infections in the United States and assessment of coefficients of variation: a novel approach to identify epidemiologic characteristics of individual serotypes, 1996-2011.PLoS One.2015 Dec 23;10(12):e0145416. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0145416Thompson Bastin ML, Neville NR, Parsons RE, Flannery AH, Tennant SJ, Johnson CA.An unusual case ofSalmonellaEnteritidis causing pneumonia, septic shock and multiple organ failure in an immunocompetent patient.IDCases.2016 Oct 18;6:85-89. doi:10.1016/j.idcr.2016.10.004Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About bacterial meningitis.Cheng WL, Li CW, Li MC, Lee NY, Lee CC, Ko WC.Salmonella infective endocarditis.J Microbiol Immunol Infect.2016 Jun;49(3):313-20. doi:10.1016/j.jmii.2015.02.659Tsagris V, Vliora C, Mihelarakis I, Syridou G, Pasparakis D, Lebessi E, Tsolia M.Salmonella osteomyelitis in previously healthy children: report of 4 cases and review of the literature.Pediatr Infect Dis J.2016 Jan;35(1):116-117. doi:10.1097/INF.0000000000000937Chang H. Lo I.Salmonella septic arthritis in patients with a hip implant: a case report.Int J Geron.December; 12(4):344-347. doi:10.1016/j.ijge.2018.02.007National Organization for Rare Disorders.Reactive arthritis.Tuompo R, Hannu T, Mattila L, Siitonen A, Leirisalo-Repo M.Reactive arthritis following Salmonella infection: a population-based study.Scand J Rheumatol.2013;42(3):196-202. doi:10.3109/03009742.2012.739201National Center for Biotechnology Information - Stat Pearls.Salmonella Typhi.Schultz BM, Paduro CA, Salazar GA, Salazar-Echegarai FJ, Sebastián VP, Riedel CA, Kalergis AM, Alvarez-Lobos M, Bueno SM.A potential role ofSalmonellainfection in the onset of inflammatory bowel diseases.Front Immunol.2017 Feb 28;8:191. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2017.00191Cliff OM, Sintchenko V, Sorrell TC, Vadlamudi K, McLean N, Prokopenko M.Network properties of salmonella epidemics.Sci Rep.2019 Apr 16;9(1):6159. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-42582-3
14 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Salmonella: questions and answers.Crump JA, Sjölund-Karlsson M, Gordon MA, Parry CM.Epidemiology, clinical presentation, laboratory diagnosis, antimicrobial resistance, and antimicrobial management of invasive salmonella infections.Clin Microbiol Rev.2015 Oct;28(4):901-937. doi:10.1128/CMR.00002-15Cleveland Clinic.Salmonella.Boore AL, Hoekstra RM, Iwamoto M, Fields PI, Bishop RD, Swerdlow DL.Salmonella enterica Infections in the United States and assessment of coefficients of variation: a novel approach to identify epidemiologic characteristics of individual serotypes, 1996-2011.PLoS One.2015 Dec 23;10(12):e0145416. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0145416Thompson Bastin ML, Neville NR, Parsons RE, Flannery AH, Tennant SJ, Johnson CA.An unusual case ofSalmonellaEnteritidis causing pneumonia, septic shock and multiple organ failure in an immunocompetent patient.IDCases.2016 Oct 18;6:85-89. doi:10.1016/j.idcr.2016.10.004Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About bacterial meningitis.Cheng WL, Li CW, Li MC, Lee NY, Lee CC, Ko WC.Salmonella infective endocarditis.J Microbiol Immunol Infect.2016 Jun;49(3):313-20. doi:10.1016/j.jmii.2015.02.659Tsagris V, Vliora C, Mihelarakis I, Syridou G, Pasparakis D, Lebessi E, Tsolia M.Salmonella osteomyelitis in previously healthy children: report of 4 cases and review of the literature.Pediatr Infect Dis J.2016 Jan;35(1):116-117. doi:10.1097/INF.0000000000000937Chang H. Lo I.Salmonella septic arthritis in patients with a hip implant: a case report.Int J Geron.December; 12(4):344-347. doi:10.1016/j.ijge.2018.02.007National Organization for Rare Disorders.Reactive arthritis.Tuompo R, Hannu T, Mattila L, Siitonen A, Leirisalo-Repo M.Reactive arthritis following Salmonella infection: a population-based study.Scand J Rheumatol.2013;42(3):196-202. doi:10.3109/03009742.2012.739201National Center for Biotechnology Information - Stat Pearls.Salmonella Typhi.Schultz BM, Paduro CA, Salazar GA, Salazar-Echegarai FJ, Sebastián VP, Riedel CA, Kalergis AM, Alvarez-Lobos M, Bueno SM.A potential role ofSalmonellainfection in the onset of inflammatory bowel diseases.Front Immunol.2017 Feb 28;8:191. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2017.00191Cliff OM, Sintchenko V, Sorrell TC, Vadlamudi K, McLean N, Prokopenko M.Network properties of salmonella epidemics.Sci Rep.2019 Apr 16;9(1):6159. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-42582-3
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Salmonella: questions and answers.Crump JA, Sjölund-Karlsson M, Gordon MA, Parry CM.Epidemiology, clinical presentation, laboratory diagnosis, antimicrobial resistance, and antimicrobial management of invasive salmonella infections.Clin Microbiol Rev.2015 Oct;28(4):901-937. doi:10.1128/CMR.00002-15Cleveland Clinic.Salmonella.Boore AL, Hoekstra RM, Iwamoto M, Fields PI, Bishop RD, Swerdlow DL.Salmonella enterica Infections in the United States and assessment of coefficients of variation: a novel approach to identify epidemiologic characteristics of individual serotypes, 1996-2011.PLoS One.2015 Dec 23;10(12):e0145416. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0145416Thompson Bastin ML, Neville NR, Parsons RE, Flannery AH, Tennant SJ, Johnson CA.An unusual case ofSalmonellaEnteritidis causing pneumonia, septic shock and multiple organ failure in an immunocompetent patient.IDCases.2016 Oct 18;6:85-89. doi:10.1016/j.idcr.2016.10.004Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About bacterial meningitis.Cheng WL, Li CW, Li MC, Lee NY, Lee CC, Ko WC.Salmonella infective endocarditis.J Microbiol Immunol Infect.2016 Jun;49(3):313-20. doi:10.1016/j.jmii.2015.02.659Tsagris V, Vliora C, Mihelarakis I, Syridou G, Pasparakis D, Lebessi E, Tsolia M.Salmonella osteomyelitis in previously healthy children: report of 4 cases and review of the literature.Pediatr Infect Dis J.2016 Jan;35(1):116-117. doi:10.1097/INF.0000000000000937Chang H. Lo I.Salmonella septic arthritis in patients with a hip implant: a case report.Int J Geron.December; 12(4):344-347. doi:10.1016/j.ijge.2018.02.007National Organization for Rare Disorders.Reactive arthritis.Tuompo R, Hannu T, Mattila L, Siitonen A, Leirisalo-Repo M.Reactive arthritis following Salmonella infection: a population-based study.Scand J Rheumatol.2013;42(3):196-202. doi:10.3109/03009742.2012.739201National Center for Biotechnology Information - Stat Pearls.Salmonella Typhi.Schultz BM, Paduro CA, Salazar GA, Salazar-Echegarai FJ, Sebastián VP, Riedel CA, Kalergis AM, Alvarez-Lobos M, Bueno SM.A potential role ofSalmonellainfection in the onset of inflammatory bowel diseases.Front Immunol.2017 Feb 28;8:191. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2017.00191Cliff OM, Sintchenko V, Sorrell TC, Vadlamudi K, McLean N, Prokopenko M.Network properties of salmonella epidemics.Sci Rep.2019 Apr 16;9(1):6159. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-42582-3
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Salmonella: questions and answers.
Crump JA, Sjölund-Karlsson M, Gordon MA, Parry CM.Epidemiology, clinical presentation, laboratory diagnosis, antimicrobial resistance, and antimicrobial management of invasive salmonella infections.Clin Microbiol Rev.2015 Oct;28(4):901-937. doi:10.1128/CMR.00002-15
Cleveland Clinic.Salmonella.
Boore AL, Hoekstra RM, Iwamoto M, Fields PI, Bishop RD, Swerdlow DL.Salmonella enterica Infections in the United States and assessment of coefficients of variation: a novel approach to identify epidemiologic characteristics of individual serotypes, 1996-2011.PLoS One.2015 Dec 23;10(12):e0145416. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0145416
Thompson Bastin ML, Neville NR, Parsons RE, Flannery AH, Tennant SJ, Johnson CA.An unusual case ofSalmonellaEnteritidis causing pneumonia, septic shock and multiple organ failure in an immunocompetent patient.IDCases.2016 Oct 18;6:85-89. doi:10.1016/j.idcr.2016.10.004
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About bacterial meningitis.
Cheng WL, Li CW, Li MC, Lee NY, Lee CC, Ko WC.Salmonella infective endocarditis.J Microbiol Immunol Infect.2016 Jun;49(3):313-20. doi:10.1016/j.jmii.2015.02.659
Tsagris V, Vliora C, Mihelarakis I, Syridou G, Pasparakis D, Lebessi E, Tsolia M.Salmonella osteomyelitis in previously healthy children: report of 4 cases and review of the literature.Pediatr Infect Dis J.2016 Jan;35(1):116-117. doi:10.1097/INF.0000000000000937
Chang H. Lo I.Salmonella septic arthritis in patients with a hip implant: a case report.Int J Geron.December; 12(4):344-347. doi:10.1016/j.ijge.2018.02.007
National Organization for Rare Disorders.Reactive arthritis.
Tuompo R, Hannu T, Mattila L, Siitonen A, Leirisalo-Repo M.Reactive arthritis following Salmonella infection: a population-based study.Scand J Rheumatol.2013;42(3):196-202. doi:10.3109/03009742.2012.739201
National Center for Biotechnology Information - Stat Pearls.Salmonella Typhi.
Schultz BM, Paduro CA, Salazar GA, Salazar-Echegarai FJ, Sebastián VP, Riedel CA, Kalergis AM, Alvarez-Lobos M, Bueno SM.A potential role ofSalmonellainfection in the onset of inflammatory bowel diseases.Front Immunol.2017 Feb 28;8:191. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2017.00191
Cliff OM, Sintchenko V, Sorrell TC, Vadlamudi K, McLean N, Prokopenko M.Network properties of salmonella epidemics.Sci Rep.2019 Apr 16;9(1):6159. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-42582-3
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