Safe food handling is essential if you don’t want the food you eat to make you ill. Recent research shows that Salmonella bacterium are over 100 million years old and have evolved into over 2500 strains, so it is unlikely we will ever destroy the strain, nor should we. All things have their place, but your table is not the right place for this potential killer.
Not all salmonella bacterium are harmful to humans although some can make a person very sick. While you may think that food that’s gone off a bit is still okay for the family pet, remember that among those 2500 strains are a few that hurt them as well.
Habitat and Spread
Salmonella thrives in the guts of over 100 species of animal from camels to cockroaches. It spreads by triggering diarrhea and vomiting. Once in the open, it can survive on almost any surface. An infected pen, finger or spoon placed in the mouth, transfers the bacteria to its new host. Animals that are not kept clean can end up with their fur or feathers coated in bacterium picked up from feces. Stroking them can leave a residue on hands. Infected animals that lick your face or things you touch can also spread salmonella.
There’s no point being paranoid about it. Salmonella is a fact of life. 100,000 could fit on the head of a pin. It likes warm, damp places with low levels of oxygen. It can lie dormant for a year if conditions are poor.
The Rise of Salmonella
Interestingly, while Salmonella has been with us throughout human history, it has grown 10-fold as a problem since the 1940s and the rise of industrial farming. Many animals herded together in confined areas provides Salmonella with opportunities to thrive. Factory-based food processing provides many potential points of entry for bacterium to get into the package and then into your hands.
The most common strain affecting humans in developed nations is Salmonella enterica. You may feel the effects within 12 hours or not for 2 or 3 days. The symptoms can last a week unless it gets into your blood at which point antibiotics are used to treat it. Most people recover from this strain of Salmonella.
More deadly is Typhi which causes typhoid fever. Common in the developing world Typhi migrates to the liver and spleen. Up to 21 million people get typhoid each year and the death rate is about 1 in 8 without treatment.
What to Do
The way to fight Salmonella is to wash your hands before eating, keep your kitchen clean, and cook food until done. Cook beef to a minimum of 145 degrees F and chicken to 165F.
The body has its own defences: stomach acid and friendly flora in the intestines. However, antacids reduce pH levels in the stomach and antibiotics can destroy friendly flora in the gut. Yogurt is a good choice for replenishing the natural defenses of the intestines and it may settle your stomach.
History
Salmonella was discovered in the 1880s by Dr. Theobald Smith while working at the US Department of agriculture on vaccines for pigs. He named it after his boss, Dr. Daniel Salmon