More that 95% of cases of Salmonella infection are food borne; outbreaks are generally caused by contaminated eggs, poultry, dairy and beef. Contaminated pork, fruit, and vegetables can also cause disease.
Salmonella is an etiological agent of salmonellosis, one of the most common foodborne illnesses associated with meat and poultry products.
Salmonella are gram-negative, nonspore-forming, facultative anaerobic bacilli that belong to the Enterobacteriaceae family.
Salmonella can be subdivided into serotypes on the basis of three types of surface antigens: cell-wall somatic or O antigens, flagellar or H antigens and polysaccharide or Vi antigens.
The highest incidence of non-typhoidal Salmonella infection is in children less than 1 year old. The risk factors for this population include riding in shopping cart next to meat or poultry, exposure to reptiles, ingesting concentrated baby formula up to 5 days before infection, day care and travel outside the country.
Etiology of salmonellosis
