Introduction

Around 2500 different Salmonella serotypes have been identified. Salmonella enteriditis and Salmonella typhimurium are the two most important serotypes for salmonellosis transmitted from animals to humans. Salmonella infections are acquired by eating contaminated poultry, eggs or dairy products. The Salmonella spp. also spreads easily from raw or undercooked poultry to innocent vegetables, fruit or other foods via contaminated hands, knives, countertops or cutting boards. Due to the ability of Salmonella to multiply in a wide variety of foods, it is important to be able to isolate the organisms even when present in very small numbers in the faeces.

The symptoms of Salmonella infection are abdominal pain, diarrhoea, mild fever, chills, headache, nausea and vomiting, developing 12–72 hours (but occasionally as long as 7 days) after infection. The discomfort generally lasts a few days. It can be dangerous for the elderly, infants and the immunocompromised, who may become extremely ill. Salmonella is also one of the leading predictors for reactive arthritis, a painful, chronic and potentially debilitating condition that causes joint inflammation.