Salmonella is a disease cause by a bacteria, which is mostly transferred to humans by consumption of infected water or food. There are around ten to twelve varieties of salmonella, which are known to cause illness. A number of diseases such as gastroenteritis, diarrhea and typhoid are symptoms of salmonella. Each one of these diseases is potent enough to cause complex problems in humans and in extreme cases, death is also possible.
Facts about Salmonella related diseases
As per official records of the World Health Organization, the number of cases of Salmonella infection every year around the world exceeds 15 million. This is a major reason of death due to infection of typhoid fever. Over fifty thousand individuals around the globe lose their lives after getting affected by it. Countries like Germany and USA report thousands of cases annually.
Salmonella Symptoms
Salmonella causes a number of fatal or near fatal diseases such as gastroenteritis, diarrhea and typhoid. Below are provided some salmonella symptoms of each of these diseases.
1. Gastroenteritis: This is caused by consumption of meat and various poultry products such as chicken and eggs etc which have not been cooked properly. Salmonella present in such food items doesn’t get destroyed if these are not cooked properly before eating. Thus, the bacteria may enter the human body and can cause this disease. Salmonella Symptoms due to this disease are vomiting, pain in the abdomen, fever, headache and stool accompanied with blood.
When a child gets infected with this disease, he or she may become lethargic and you may notice lack of sleep in him or her. Further, fever and dehydration in such a child are common along with discoloration of skin, dark spots under the eyes etc. These may be accompanied by disruption in the transportation of nutrition by the blood and in extreme cases, it may cause death. This is because various body processes start ceasing along with suppression of volume of urine.
2. Typhoid: Typhoid is caused by a variety “Salmonella Typhi” of the bacteria Salmonella. This is prevalent around the world and its major reason is consumption of infected food or water. The onset of this disease is separated into four different stages and the symptoms of each stage are different and more intense from those of the earlier stage. The first stage is characterized by a fever, which rises continuously, along with headache, cough, continuous flow of blood from nose and reduction in white blood cell count in the body. In the second stage, the fever becomes constant at around 104 degrees Fahrenheit and an erratic pulse. These symptoms are generally accompanied by red spots on the chest along with diarrhea. While constipation is seen in some cases, increase in frequency of stools is also possible. If the fever rises in the afternoon and subsides later on, it can be a sign of typhoid.
During the third week, the Salmonella Symptoms become more prominent. For example, the fever remains at high level. This may even lead to severe dehydration and internal bleeding in the intestines can also occur. Death may occur in case of onset of perforation of intestine. This stage of typhoid is the most dangerous as most deaths occur during it. The salmonella symptoms start subsiding during the fourth stage and the fever may start getting reduced.
3. Reactive arthritis or Reiter’s syndrome is a less prevalent form of Salmonella infection. In this disease, the symptoms include inflammation of the joints. There is a severe irritation in the eyes and various complications in the urinary tract. The patient’s joints such as knees and ankles are affected by this syndrome. It is also possible that permanent problems such as development of a bone type structure in the heels. This results in pain which may last long time.
This syndrome may affect the organs in the urogenital tract including the penis and prostrate (men) and vagina and uterus (women). This may lead to increase in urination and a sense of burning while passing the urine. Another problem may set in men, which is known as prostatitis and is characterized by fever and a lasting chilling sensation.
4. Diarrhea: This is a condition in which the patient experiences loose motions. Salmonella symptoms due to it include rapid loss of essential fluids in the body and it can even cause death. This is because it leads to dehydration and disturbance in balance of electrolytes in the body. It is characterized by intensive pain in the abdomen along with vomiting. The stools may be liquid due to excessive water in the bowels.
