What is Salmonellosis Food Poisoning?
Salmonellosis is an infection with bacteria called Salmonella, which generally affects the intestines and occasionally the bloodstream.
The following symptoms usually begin from 12 hours to 3 days after you are infected.
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Abdominal cramps
- Headache
These symptoms, along with possible nausea, loss of appetite, and vomiting, usually last for 4 to 7 days.
Symptoms are most severe in the elderly, infants, and people with chronic conditions such as diabetes or HIV infection.
For some people, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. In these patients, the illness may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream, and then to other body sites. Salmonellosis can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.
Complications
These infections can be life-threatening especially for infants and young children, pregnant women and their unborn babies, and older adults, who are at a higher risk for foodborne illness, as are people with weakened immune systems (such as those with HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, and transplant patients).
In rare cases, salmonellosis can cause brain abscesses, osteomyelitis or enteric reactive arthritis, referred to as such because the arthritis associated with the syndrome occurs as a “reaction” to the Salmonella infection.
Reactive arthritis can affect any joint in the body and cause any of the following:
- Enthesopathy, painful inflammation of the tendon that attaches to the bone
- Heel spurs, bony growths in the heel that cause chronic or long-lasting foot pain
- Spondylitis, inflammation of the spine
- Sacroiliitis, inflammation of the joints of the lower back that connect the spine to the pelvis
- Conjunctivitis, inflammation of the mucous membrane that covers the eyeball and eyelid
- Uveitis, inflammation of the inner eye
About 10 percent of people with reactive arthritis, develop heart problems:
- Aortic regurgitation, leakage of blood from the aorta into the heart chamber
- Pericarditis, inflammation of the membrane that covers and protects the heart
Free Consultation with an Attorney
Pritzker Hagman has a national food safety practice representing clients in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against restaurants and food companies. Our attorneys are food safety advocates who have been interviewed by major media outlets including The Associated Press, The New York Times, USA Today and more. Our clients have appeared before Congress advocating for food safety and food poisoning prevention.
To contact a Pritzker Hageman Salmonella lawyer about a lawsuit for compensation, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free) or submit this case review form.
