Salmonella Sadness
It’s your sixth birthday and mommy just bought you your very
own pet hedgehog named Mazie! Little did you know 24 hours later, you
would be huddled over the toilet barfing and holding your tummy in pain. Turns
out your new pet hedgy helped you contract salmonella! The epidemic of
salmonella outbreaks across the nation are increasing because people are
unaware of the possible exposures. Food is the most common source of this epidemic and, that makes sense
considering how easy it is to run to the store and grab the possibly
contaminated meats and veggies. However, the good news is this epidemic is
easily solvable; The smart and quick fix would be to educate the public of the
risks and teach them ways to prevent future exposures.
Before
we get into how it affects the body, let's talk about what salmonella is, where
it comes from, and how it was discovered. According
to the United States Department of Agriculture, “Karl
Eberth and his assistant were the first to discover the gram-negative,
rod-shaped bacilli in the Peyer’s patches of typhoid patients’ spleens in the
year 1880” (CDC).
As
the timeline of
the disease progresses, the United States started to see a major incline in the
outbreak of salmonella during the late 1990’s with “restaurants,
caterers, delicatessens, bakeries, cafeterias, and market” places that were
distributing infected food unknowingly (“Salmonella”).
One of The
largest recorded U.S. outbreak of
salmonellosis was found in a strain called S.
Typhimurium. It was traced back to the milk of the company named the
Hill Farm Dairy in northern Illinois (1). This infectious disease strain harmed over 17,000 people and over 200,000
were suspected to be harmed but remained unreported.
(1). Due to this inclined rate of people being infected, this
motivated scientist to figure out new technology and help stop it from
spreading and also find a way to manipulate or control the bacterium.
This
epidemic affects society in many ways, including but not limited to:
business/industry,
medical bills, and its impact on the infected victim and family members. The spread of
infections is like tipping one domino and the whole line goes rippling down.
For example, if a few people who unload the trucks at Walmart suddenly come
down with a local salmonella outbreak, then they can’t go to work and do their
job. If they can’t get the products unloaded from the trucks, then the other
employees can’t stock the shelves and now Walmart is losing
money and affecting their business in the long run. Not only
will Walmart be losing money, but the worker will too because of the time they
have to take off for being bedridden.
Another example of why salmonella is bad for
society is if it is traced back to a single industry’s product. In August of
2009, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) “discovered
that at least 40 individuals across the country had become ill with antibiotic
resistant salmonella Newport infections after eating ground beef produced by Beef Packers Inc. of Fresno California” (Marler Clark). Not soon after
Marler Clark, the food safety law firm, got involved, there was a massive lawsuit against this company and “825,769
pounds of ground beef” were recalled costing the company millions (1). Not only
will the infection affect business, but it also affects the person who
contracted the illness.
A
helpful article written by Robert L. Scharff called “Health related costs from
foodborne illnesses in the US” states that “each salmonella illness costs an average of $318 in
medical expenses.” (Health Related Costs from Foodborne Illnesses in the
United States). This is very expensive considering that is what some
people make in just one week! Paying three hundred for a doctor visit is one thing but imagine the medical
bill for being hospitalized for one week, it could be upwards of sixteen thousand dollars or more depending on the tests they order and how long
the patient stays in care of professionals. One source says: “Salmonella is diagnosed by stool culture or,
if the infection has progressed to sepsis, through venous blood culture.”
(Preventing salmonella infection). In 2013, a study explained that the mean expense per stay associated with
sepsis hospitalization was over 18,000 (Sepsis).
Although the bills are temporarily crippling,
the infection has the potential to have a permanent impact on lives and it can
be really devastating for the patient. Forty-One-year-old Barb Pruitt
unfortunately fell victim to a nasty case of salmonella and even to this day
hasn’t overcome the toll it took on her body. A reporter from CNN documented
her case:
It all started one day in early August 2009. She felt as if she had the
flu, with achiness, fatigue and nausea. Her symptoms worsened over the next few
days, until one morning at 3:30 she woke up barely able to walk, vomiting and
losing control of her bowels as she tried to find her cell phone. Her teenage
daughter drove her to the hospital. Doctors said she was having septic shock
and tachycardia. Doctors removed part of her small intestine. She lost about 40
pounds in three weeks (Food Poison Journal).
Pruitt is extremely lucky to be alive today. This
harmful bacterium takes the life of “8 out of every 1000” person infected (1).
One can only imagine the heartbreak, loss, and pain the families of the victims
must go through due to this horrendous epidemic. But some good news
is that usually people that are infected with salmonella show little to no
symptoms and get better within a week. “Others develop diarrhea,
fever and abdominal cramps within eight to 72 hours, but most healthy people
recover within a few days without specific treatment.” according to sources
(“Mayo Clinic”).
Salmonella
is a horrible bacterial infection that affects the lives of thousands across
America. Luckily, doctors and researchers have come up with many ways to combat
its infestation on the human body and even formulated step by step plans to
prevent it from spreading.
As you may or may not know, Salmonella can be tested for
by taking an Enteric Pathogens Culture test, which is just a fancy name for
taking a stool sample. Doctors perform this test to determine whether you have
an infection of your digestive tract due to the presence of disease-causing
(also known as pathogenic) bacteria. Within two hours the fresh stool sample
must be sent to a lab where it can be analyzed by specialist who inspects the
bacterium underneath a microscope (LabCorp). Now that the patient has been
informed they are infected, doctors will next start a treatment plan.
Medication is a common first recommendation among doctors for salmonella.
Antidiarrheals help relieve cramping according to Mayo Clinic, but they may
prolong the diarrhea. Antibiotics help if the bacterium has entered the blood stream,
so it can attack and kill it. However, “antibiotics may prolong the period in
which you carry the bacteria and can infect others, and they can increase your
risk of relapse” (“Mayo Clinic”). Mayo Clinic also provides at home remedies
like chewing crushed ice and sipping water occasionally for adults and
Pedialyte for children.
Salmonella is continuing to take
lives at an alarming rate, however scientist are beginning to develop antibiotics
that may help prevent or cure the disease. The most effective antibiotic they
developed is Moxifloxacin which is relatively effective, compared to the other
types of antibiotics that scientists have developed. What makes Moxifloxacin
effective is that it only has a 6.6% resistant rate which means that it has a
good chance of targeting salmonella and eliminating it from the body. Due to
its low resistance rate this means that salmonella has a very small chance of
being able to combat back against it. As stated in “In Vitro Effect of New
Antibiotics Against Clinical Isolates of Salmonella,” by Ahmed Mamoon there are
multiple types of antibiotics out there that can treat Salmonella, but
Moxifloxacin is one of the better ones to use due to it being a, “good therapeutic
option” (Mamoon). Not only that, but this antibiotic has been tested and,
“utilized by renowned antimicrobial susceptibility testing agencies” (1). This
further supports that scientist are trying to get ahold of this disease tame it
once and for all.
On another hand Scientist have
looked to solve the outbreak of salmonella on a more natural level, which is to
eliminate it from infected animals. In the Scholarly Article, “Salmonella in
the Feed Industry: Problems and Potential Solutions,” by Zorica Tomicic she
goes on to talk about how we can help reduce and even one day eliminate
salmonella from getting to humans in the food chain by stopping it when we are
raising our cattle. She claims, “Such as organic acids, short- and medium-chain
fatty acids, prebiotics, probiotics and, more recently, essential oils of plant
origin, have the potential to reduce salmonella levels.” By doing this it
serves a quality prevention method to salmonella and its current epidemic worldwide.
If the majority of farmers from around the world started practicing this,
salmonella would be greatly reduced and there wouldn’t be as many lives lost
because of it.
Albert Camus believes that the conflict of
the world is that the things people want are different from the things they
come across in the universe, this is what he names “the absurd”. He makes a point in his story about a young
fellow who commits suicide, and this leads Camus to think that life must have
no meaning and has no point to keep living. However, confronting the absurd
doesn’t involve suicide, instead it allows us to live a full life. Camus states
the three characteristics of the absurd: revolt, freedom, and passion. His
beliefs do not relate to the salmonella epidemic directly because it is to be
assumed people do not go looking to be infected with this bacterium nor do they
feel a passion to want to be. On the contrary, if deeply analyzed one could say
Camus would feel like the universe is sending a message to the people that
there will be struggles and mountains that come your way and you must be ready
to put up a fight. If Camus saw all of the way’s doctors, scientists, and
researches work hard to keep patients alive and stop the spread of more germs
in society, I would say he believes they are following closely behind his third
characteristic of an absurd life; “Passion (we must pursue a life of rich and
diverse experiences)” (SparkNotes). These individuals live day to day with a
purpose to help people in medical need and that encompasses Camus who thinks
the world needs purpose to be considered righteous.
Salmonella is an overlooked epidemic
in society. The lack of education about the spreading of this bacteria is
baffling. Since “Salmonella causes about 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000
hospitalizations, and 450 deaths in the United States every year” (CDC), you
would think people would open their eyes. As most things do, it all starts with
one person to make a difference in the world, you.
Works Cited
Admin,
Author SA. “New U.S. Government Report Reveals Annual Cost of Hospital
Treatment of Sepsis Has Grown by $3.4 Billion.” Sepsis Alliance, 7 July 2016, www.sepsis.org/sepsis-alliance-news/new-u-s-government-report-reveals-annual-cost-ofhospital-treatment-of-sepsis-has-grown-by-3-4-billion/.
Camus,
Albert. “THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS.” SparkNotes,
SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/sisyphus/table-of-contents/.
“Cargill Ground Beef Salmonella Newport
Outbreak - Nationwide (2009).” Marler Clark, Colorado Department of Public Health
and Environment , 7 Aug. 2009,
marlerclark.com/news_events/cargill-ground-beef-salmonella-newport-outbreak-nationwi
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Ives, James. “Autophagy Can Help Combat
Salmonella and Other Pathogens.” News, 27 Mar.
2019, www.news-medical.net/news/20190327/Autophagy-can-help-combat-Salmonella-and-ot
her-pathogens.aspx.
“Prevention
| General Information | Salmonella | CDC.” Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, www.cdc.gov/salmonella/general/prevention.html.
Rayfield, Nelson MacNeil. “What Is
Salmonella?” Nelson MacNeil Rayfield,
20 July 2015, www.nelsonmacneil.com/personal-injury/what-is-salmonella/.
“Salmonella.” Stop Foodborne Illness, 2017, stopfoodborneillness.org/pathogen/
salmonella/.
“Salmonella
Homepage | CDC.” Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/salmonella/index.html.
"Salmonella
Homepage | CDC." Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 Feb. 2019, www.cdc.gov/salmonella/index.html.
“Salmonella
Infection.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 7
Sept. 2018,
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/salmonella/symptoms-causes/syc-20355329.
“Salmonella
Infection.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo
Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 7 Sept. 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/salmonella/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355335.
Schariff, Robert L. “Health Related Costs
from Food-Borne Illnesses in the United States.” Produce Safety Project, Georgetown University , 3 Mar. 2010, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/eh/docs/ReportPublication/HlthRelatedCostsFromFoodborneIllinessUS.pdf.
Snow, Michelle. “Preventing Salmonella
Infection : Nursing2019.” LWW,
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