1. Location: Limpopo (South Africa)
2. Diseases listed: Malaria, Foodborne illness, Cholera
3. Details of a foodborne illness (salmonellosis) outbreak in Limpopo
The South African Independent Online news, in their issue of Tuesday 28 January 2014, reported an occurrence of diarrhoea outbreak few days earlier at a lodge (Mokopane) in Limpopo. The first release of information was done by the provincial diseases’ outbreak response team on 27 January 2014 and mentioned that 42 people were hospitalized. It was believed that contaminated foods or water at the lodge were responsible for the outbreak. When the situation was revealed, food and water samples were taken immediately and analysed for ...view middle of the document...
Endovascular infection and deep bone or visceral abscesses are important complications that may be difficult to treat. Salmonella can originate from animals or human. The localisation and dissemination of the infection in e.g. intestine or blood depends on host factors as well as the virulence of the strain.
Symptoms: People infected by Salmonella develop various symptoms such as diarrhoea, fever, abdominal cramps, nausea, sometimes vomiting, headache, chills and myalgia. This occurs 12-72 hours after the infection and will remain for 4 to 7 days. Severe dehydration requiring hospitalization can occur in infants and the elderly. In few cases, infected people develop a Reiter’s syndrome, an illness that can persist for months or years and cause e.g. chronic arthritis, nonbacterial urethritis or cervicitis. Asymptomatic infections can also be seen.
Transmission: The microorganisms responsible for salmonellosis are usually transmitted to humans through consumption of foods or water that have been contaminated with animal feces. Contaminated foods are mainly of animal origin e.g. meat, poultry, eggs and milk but can also be vegetables. Transmission can also occur through a contact with an infected person (faecal-oral route) or infected animals that often do not exhibit the disease symptoms.
Diagnosis: Salmonellosis is first diagnosed by a physical examination by doctors. The diagnosis is confirmed by blood and stool analyses. The microorganisms can be identified using various phenotypic (biochemical) and genotypic (molecular biology) methods. The serovar can be identified using serology for the somatic (O), flagellar (H) and capsular (Vi) antigens.
Treatment: Other than oral fluid to compensate the loss of water caused by diarrhoea, salmonellosis do not...