Salmonella

THE NEW INNOVATIVE WAY TO DETECT SALMONELLA IN YOUR FOOD

1. INTRODUCTION

Salmonella is a gram-negative bacterium shaped like a rod and has a cell wall composed of peptidoglycan which is one of the most common causes of the food poisoning called salmonellosis.

Salmonella enterica and Salmonella bongori are the two species that can be found. S enterica usually infects cattle and poultry and is divided into six subspecies. S bongori is most commonly referred to as the microbe of cold-blooded animals. Collectively, there are over 2500 serotypes of Salmonellae, all which are capable of causing disease in humans.

Salmonellosis has duration of 4 to 7 days and the symptoms include diarrhoea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. The bacteria travel to small intestine, and in severe cases bacteria break through the intestinal wall to the bloodstream which can be deadly, if not treated properly. Fast and efficient identification and detection of this pathogen in food sources and the environment is crucial to ensure that consumers purchase and consume safe food.

Salmonella Enteritidis has been responsible for occasional cases of infection in the United Kingdom over the past 100 years. However, its emergence as a pandemic chicken meat- and egg-associated global public health problem in the late 1980s caused the largest and most persistent epidemic of food borne infection attributable to a single subtype of any pathogen. In England and Wales, it is estimated that more than 525,000 people became ill during the course of the epidemic. The epidemic was associated with the consumption of contaminated chicken meat but more importantly, shell eggs. A decline in numbers of infections started after, the introduction of vaccination for Salmonella Enteritidis, and other control measures in chicken breeding and the production and distribution of eggs and chicken meat

Figure 1 Most common foods associated with Salmonella outbreaks

Source: CDC National Outbreak...