I was 'diagnosed' salmonella after having NO symptoms of it what so ever. Are all these tests necessary

Question

No direah, no vomiting, no neausia. I haven't traveled, been around any reptiles, or been anywhere I can think of where I might have been cross-contaminated by incorrectly prepared chicken or eggs or sprouts etc.

I only went into the doctor in the first place because I had a MILD urinary tract infection. Now I'm getting calls from my doctor AND the California State Health Department who are BOTH wanting to run all these tests and *@#$. These tests consist of numberous visits to various offices in order to take the UTTERLY embarrassing stool and urine samples.

After showing no signs what so ever is it REALLY necessary? Did I mention that this was about TWO weeks ago? and they're JUST NOW calling me all paranoid I'm going to spread it.... even though the incubation period for contamination of others from myself is long gone. I just think this is all paranoid, pointless, and over compensation. Should I really bother running through this battery of tests?

Answer 1

As one of those health department people who has to bug people like you about their Salmonella, I would like to clarify a few things for you.

Right now, there are a few rare Salmonella clusters going around the country, including California. When we spot a rare cluster, we want to investigate it and find a source. That's why we ask you a litany of questions (a big interview can take up to an hour and I'll ask about everything from sprout to shark cartilage).

Is it really necessary? YES. How else do you think we found out about the Salmonella-contaminated peanut butter? We had to test a lot of people and interview them at length about their exposures.

Not all people who have Salm infections show symptoms. But depending on the serotype and the patients' occupations, we have various protocols for interviewing and clearing patients.

Did they tell you what kind of Salm you have? Given the kind of attention you're getting, either you live somewhere in CA where the health department folks don't get to see much action, or you have something like S. typhi (causes typhoid fever).

If you work in food service, day care or health care, you will also be subject to more scrutiny because you can still be contagious, even without symptoms.

So from my professional point of view, I'd encourage you to just comply with the testing. If you are in a "sensitive occupation" you NEED to comply. Otherwise, public health can bring their law enforcement arm into the picture (think of that lawyer with TB -- he didn't comply, either).

Answer 2

"Salmonella" is the name of a whole family of bacteria.

Many of the bugs in this family pose little risk to humans, while others can cause food poisoning, and sometimes very serious disease.

One member of this family is Salmonella typhi, the cause of typhoid.

Typhoid is very uncommon in most Western countries but is a significant cause of epidemics and deaths in the third world. When it does show up it is very important to track down all cases and work out how it is being caught. It tends to show up in the feces and urine of carriers. Some people who get typhoid do not get very sick themselves, but can pass the bug on to other people who can get very sick and even die.

Other bugs in the salmonella family can be just as serious.

Please don't be embarassed by the attention you have attracted from public health people. It's their job to try to stop epidemics before they start. You might not have typhoid or one of the serious salmonella bugs, but they need to find out for sure. A course of the right antibiotics will clear typhoid and other types of salmonella if you do have such an infection .

Answer 3

Are u Asian ? If you do and u travell a lot, u shouldn't worry about salmonella. It give us symptoms only if it reach 1/360 or higher.
But if u not, u might want to know how u get infected. In Asia, salmonella usually spread by rat/mouse and it's food borne disease.
In my country, typhoid is common disease, but eventually urs not. So maybe wether u want it or not u must undergo all the test.

Answer 4

thats weird... maybe you should take the tests. you'd be suprised what people get these days