Salmonellosis

Abstract

Enteric infections of man, as cholera, shigellosis, Salmonella typhi and S. paratyphi A spread only from person to person. In contrast, the sources of most Salmonella other than the above types include a variety of lower animals and birds. Attention will be limited here to a consideration of modes of spread from sources other than man. Historically there have been wide fluctuations in the attention given to the various possible sources and modes of spread of salmonellosis. Watt (1951) has commented “Rats and mice have been traditionally considered the main culprits in the spread of salmonellosis…. Too many investigators stop studying a Salmonella case as soon as they find a mouse pellet.” Recently attention has been directed to domestic fowl and particularly to the occurrence of Salmonella in powdered eggs. The problem is not to detect possible sources or modes of spread but rather to evaluate reliably their relative practical importance.