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from the take-before-having-the-chicken-tartar dept.
Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have developed a vaccine against salmonella poisoning designed to be taken by mouth. The findings are detailed in an article published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.
In earlier studies, the UTMB researchers developed potential vaccines from three genetically mutated versions of the salmonella bacteria, that is Salmonella Typhimurium, that were shown to protect mice against a lethal dose of salmonella. In these studies, the vaccines were given as an injection.
[...] There is no vaccine currently available for salmonella poisoning. Antibiotics are the first choice in treating salmonella infections, but the fact that some strains of salmonella are quickly developing antibiotic resistance is a serious concern. Another dangerous aspect of salmonella is that it can be used as a bioweapon -- this happened in Oregon when a religious cult intentionally contaminated restaurant salad bars and sickened 1,000 people.
[...] Salmonella is responsible for one of the most common food-borne illnesses in the world. In the US alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are about 1.4 million cases with 15,000 hospitalizations and 400 deaths each year. It is thought that for every reported case, there are approximately 39 undiagnosed infections. Overall, the number of salmonella cases in the US has not changed since 1996.
Tatiana E. Erova, et al. Protective Immunity Elicited by Oral Immunization of Mice with Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Braun Lipoprotein (Lpp) and Acetyltransferase (MsbB) Mutants. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2016; 6 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2016.00148
(Score: 3, Informative) by AthanasiusKircher on Saturday December 31 2016, @12:41AM
I know when stats come up with "millions" of cases of food poisoning that many people can be skeptical. But Salmonella, like many types of food poisoning, can present in a variety of fashions from very mild to very severe.
For one thing, contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as the "24-hour flu," in the sense that influenza doesn't present gastrointestinal symptoms that last 24 hours. And the vast majority of times that people DO have vomiting and/or diarrhea (sometimes with fever, chills, etc.) that lasts 24 hours, it's a case of food poisoning of some variety. (There are a minority of cases where these symptoms are caused by viruses rather than foodborne bacteria, but some such viruses, such as Norovirus, are also frequently involved in food poisoning outbreaks too.)
The key thing to note is that food poisoning -- including Salmonella -- does NOT always present immediately. A lot of types of food poisoning can take 2 or 3 days for incubation before symptoms present. So just because you don't get diarrhea immediately after eating the underdone chicken doesn't mean that the "stomach flu" you get a few days later wasn't connected to it. Or maybe while taking your raw chicken out of the package you sprayed "juice" over the counter and it got on some vegetables or fruits you later cut up for your salad... but nothing happened for a day or two and you forgot that even happened. Short of a lab test, you'll probably never know.
Anyhow, the vast majority of cases of food poisoning aren't severe enough to even result in a doctor or hospital visit, which is the reason why it's so hard to estimate the number of cases. But think back to how many times you've had a "stomach flu" in your life and realize that it's pretty likely most of them were actually food poisoning of some sort. Most people tend to be rather cavalier about kitchen hygiene because they often don't directly see cause and effect between a bad food practice and an illness that happens a day (or two or three) later.
For the elderly or the very young, these infections can frequently be life-threatening, and foodborne illness used to be a major cause of death before modern sanitation. It's still a huge issue in less developed countries... and, as the summary notes, it still results in significant numbers of hospitalizations (and some deaths) each year in the U.S.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 31 2016, @01:36AM
One thing that many people forget is that food poisoning can be caused by more than just under-cooked meat. According to some estimates, most FBI is caused by cross-contamination at home and by contaminated vegetables (especially spinach) in commercial settings. Additionally, infections from contaminated dairy products and some other sources can literally take 2 weeks before you feel ill.