salmonella?

Question

is salmonella a very dangerous disease and if how dangerous

Answer 1

Salmonella is a bacterial infection that most people have already had, and usually get from mis-handled food.

Now- you need to understand that there are several strains of Salmonella, from the very dangerous Typhoid, to the pretty bad stuff industrial food plants can grow, to the pretty mild stuff most reptiles and households carry.

The typical home case takes about 20-48 hours to develop, and sympoms usually last for 24-48 hours but can linger for a few days after.

The basic symptoms are diarrhea and nausea/vomiting- what we often call 'the stomach flu' or '24 hour bug'. (Flus and colds gernerally do not show this combination.)

It CAN kill, if you are young, old, or compromised, usually through a combination of dehydration and mis-handling the disease. About 400 people a year will die of Salmonella- usually from one of the more dangerous forms.

HOWEVER- pretty much everyone over the age of 13 has had at least one attack of Salmonella, which means that it is only fatal in an incredibly tiny fraction of the cases.

Wash your hands after using the toilet or handling the turtle (or its water), wipe up spills, handle food correctly, and don't worry about it.

Answer 2

It can be very dangerous. Here's a small blurble I got from the website I list in my sources:

"Salmonellosis is an infection with a bacteria called Salmonella. Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. In these patients, the Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness."

In other words: its like a really bad flu bug.

Don't fret about getting this. Just remember to always wash up after handling your reptile. Don't ever kiss or lick or otherwise have your mouth come in contact with your reptile. Don't put your hands near your face after handling your reptile. If you follow these simple steps, you won't get it (not from reptiles anyway...perhaps from some bad meat or dairy product...^^;)

Answer 3

Salmonellosis in humans:

Salmonellosis is an extremely common disease among humans. There were 41,901 reported cases in the U.S. in 1997, which probably only represents the "tip of the iceberg" of an estimated 1.4 million cases/year of non-typhoidal Salmonella infections, with ~16,000 hospitalizations and 600 deaths.
Following a 12-36 hour incubation period, symptoms of fever, headache, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and dehydration develop, which may lead to fulminant septicemia/endotoxemia.

www.vetmed.wisc.edu/pbs/zoonoses/GIk9fel/salmonella.html

Answer 4

salmonella is pretty serious especially for kids and the elderly. it can be treated before it gets too serious if the doctor is aware of the animal upon treatment. i recommend keeping a pump bottle of hand sanitizer next to the tank and use it anytime u come in contact with anything to do with the animal and wash your hands with antibacterial soap when u hold the animal or touch the substrate or water. sing the happy birthday song slow while u wash your hands to can be sure u washed long enough for the germs to be killed. also clean with Lysol wipes around the tank and accessories at least once a week.

Answer 5

mostly trough rotten food like old meat or eggs if you are unlucky enough to drink some contaminated spring water you might get it as well from there and of course you can get it from someone else who has it (toilet seats for example) but in general you don't have to worry to much about salmonella if you use some common sense

Answer 6

Take a look here: http://www.salmonella.org/info.html


Salmonella can be very dangerous depending on the overall health of the person infected. Make sure to wash your hands after touching things (like reptiles) that can cause this disease.

Answer 7

It can be very serious, depending on how severe a case a person develops. Younger and older people are more at risk due to weaker immune systems. It is rarely fatal.

http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbsam.htm

Answer 8

It can be, especially if you have a compromised immune system. In mild cases you'll just be miserable with diarrhea for a while. Many reptiles carry it. So wash your hands after handling them!

Answer 9

i think salmonella is a kind of dinosour..... lol no but yes it can be vary dangerous sometimes.......

Answer 10

It gives you bad diarrhea for days. You could become dehydrated.