Question 1: What is the infectious agent (pathogen) that causes this infectious disease? The infectious agent (pathogen) that causes salmonella is called salmonella enteriditis. The bacteria is larger than a virus; but, is visible to the eye with the microscope. It is rod-shaped, gram negative, non-motile bacteria that does not form spores. Interestingly enough it communicates to its fellow bacteria via AHL. It infects the cell, multiplies within it; then, bursts the cell. Special effector protein factors are required for salmonella intestinal invasion and the induction of fluid secretion and for inflammatory responses. There are about six names species names of it, salmonella enteritidis, and salmonella enteric which cause the human disease.
Sources:
www.cdc.ncided/dbmd/diseaseinfo www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease www.edu/imagepages/1048.htm www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb www.ndm.gov/medlineplus/ency/image
Questions 2: How is this infectious agent transmitted through food and water?
How is Salmonella transmitted to humans?
Salmonellosis is spread to people by ingestion of Salmonella bacteria that contaminate food. Salmonella is worldwide and can contaminate almost any food type, but outbreaks of the disease have involved raw eggs, raw meat (ground beef and other poorly cooked meats), egg products, fresh vegetables, cereal, pistachio nuts, tomatoes, and contaminated water. The most recent major outbreak (summer 2010) involved Salmonella-contaminated eggs from several U.S. producers that have caused the recall of over 500 million eggs (see the unusual causes section below). Contamination can come from animal or human feces that contact the food during its processing or harvesting. New data about types of food contamination (food poisoning by Salmonella spp.) is available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the FDA. Potential direct sources of Salmonella are pets such