Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
Treatment for enteritis or food poisoning is controversial. Some doctors
recommend no antibiotics since the disease is self-limited, while others suggest
using antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin (Cipro, Cipro XR, Proquin XR) for 10-14 days. Some medical investigators believe antibiotics prolong the carrier state.
However, patients identified as immunosuppressed (for example, patients with AIDS or undergoing cancerchemotherapy, infants under 2 months of age, or the elderly) should receive antibiotics; they may need to be hospitalized and have some of their care managed by an infectious disease consultant. In addition, pregnancy often predisposes the mother to get all types of food poisoning, including
Salmonella. Pregnant females should take care to wash and cook foods well before eating. They should contact their OB/GYN doctor if they begin to have any signs of dehydration, especially if they develop a fever above 101 F.
Supportive therapy for both enteritis and enteric fevers consists mainly of
preventing dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities (for example, abnormal levels of
potassium and sodium ions) with fluids containing electrolytes (for example, IV fluids
or oral fluids like sports drinks).
Carriers of Salmonella are considered to be infected even though they may
show no symptoms. Carriers can infect other people and need to be cured of the
carrier state. About 85% of carriers can be cured by a combination of surgery to
remove their gallbladder and antibiotic treatments.
How can Salmonella infection be prevented?
Cleanliness is a key to prevention. Hand washing with soap and hot water,
especially after handling eggs, poultry, and raw meat is likely to reduce the
chance for infections. The use of antibacterial soaps has been recommended by
some investigators. By using chlorine-treated drinking water, washed produce, and
by not ingesting undercooked foods such as eggs, meat, or other food, people can
also reduce the chance of exposure to Salmonella. Avoiding direct contact with
animal carriers of Salmonella (for example, turtles, snakes, pigs) also may
prevent the disease.
Public-health authorities that enforce restaurant cleanliness and employee hand
washing have helped in general prevention. Human carriers of Salmonella should
never work in the food-handling service industry and ideally should undergo
gallbladder removal and antibiotic therapy for an attempt for a cure of the
carrier state. Public-health authorities also ask for product recalls when
products are contaminated with Salmonella or other contaminating organisms or
toxins. In 2009, there was a recall for peanut-containing foods (for example,
peanut butter, cookies, crackers). The Westco Fruit and Nut Co., Inc., provided peanut-based paste that was reported to contain
Salmonella and was used to make many food products. Eventually, about 3,800 products were recalled. Similar recalls have occurred for pistachio nuts from a California provider in March 2009 and for tomatoes in 2008, both contaminated with
Salmonella. Recent recalls for contaminated beef in July and August 2009 contained
Salmonella with multiple drug resistance. The huge egg recall in September 2010 may have been prevented if the several egg-farming companies had practiced good sanitation and provided sanitary conditions for the hens to be housed. Recalls increase the safety of the population from exposure to microbial and toxic food contaminants.
Although some Salmonella vaccines are available for poultry and animals,
human vaccines are available only for typhoid fever. However, the CDC does not
recommend that everyone get vaccinated for typhoid fever; they recommend that
only those people going to developing countries where typhoid fever is endemic
(for example, regions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America) should receive the
vaccine. The typhoid fever vaccine is available in an oral (Ty21) and injectable
form (ViCPS). People planning to request these vaccines should notify their
doctors well in advance (about eight to 10 weeks) before they need the vaccine as it
may not be readily available and need to be administered about two weeks before
travel. Researchers are attempting to develop other vaccines for all types of
Salmonella infections.
The animal vaccine is being used in Europe to make hens less likely to transmit disease to their eggs and to other hens. However, those European egg producers who use the vaccine on hens are cautioned to also maintain sanitary conditions and good housing for the poultry since the vaccine is not 100% protective. The FDA does not require U.S. egg producers to vaccinate their hens; however, the 2010 egg recall has caused the agency to reexamine this policy and the FDA may require vaccination of hens in the future.
Gastroenteritis (viral gastroenteritis, stomach flu) is an infection caused by a variety of viruses that results in vomiting and/or diarrhea. Even though it is often called the "stomach flu," it is not caused by the influenza viruses. Viruses that can cause gastroenteritis (stomach flu) include: rotaviruses, adenoviruses, caliciviruses, astroviruses, Norwalk virus, and a group of Noroviruses. Gastroenteritis is not caused by bacteria. The main symptoms of gastroenteritis include vomiting and watery diarrhea, however, headache, fever, and abdominal cramps (stomach ache) may also be present.
Diarrhea is a change is the frequency and looseness of bowel movements. Cramping, abdominal pain, and the sensation of rectal urgency are all symptoms of diarrhea. Absorbents and anti-motility medications are used to treat diarrhea.
There are many symptoms involved in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy. The first early pregnancy symptom is typically a missed period, but others include breast swelling and tenderness, nausea and sometimes vomiting, fatigue and bloating. Second trimester symptoms include backache, weight gain, itching, and possible stretch marks. Third trimester symptoms are additional weight gain, heartburn, hemorrhoids, swelling of the ankles, fingers, and face, breast tenderness, and trouble sleeping. Read more to learn about recommended procedures and tests for each stage of a healthy pregnancy.
Dehydration is the excessive loss of body water. There are a number of causes of dehydration including heat exposure, prolonged vigorous exercise, and some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The best way to treat dehydration is to prevent it from occurring.
Nausea is an uneasiness of the stomach that often precedes vomiting. Nausea and vomiting are not diseases, but they are symptoms of many conditions. The causes of vomiting differ according to age, and treatment depends upon the cause of nausea and vomiting.
Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.). Fever is part of the body's own disease-fighting arsenal: rising body temperatures apparently are capable of killing off many disease- producing organisms.
Sepsis (blood poisoning) is a potentially deadly infection with signs and symptoms that include elevated heart rate, low or high temperature, rapid breathing and/or a white blood cell count that is too high or too low and has more than 10% band cells. Most cases of sepsis are caused by bacterial infections, and some cases are caused by fungal infections. Treatment requires hospitalization, IV antibiotics, and therapy to treat any organ dysfunction.
Typhoid fever is an illness caused by the Salmonella typhi bacteria. The illness is contracted by ingesting the bacteria in contaminated water or food. Symptoms include headaches, fever, diarrhea, lethargy, aches and pains, and poor appetite. Treatment focuses on killing the Salmonella bacteria with antibiotics.
Food poisoning is common, but can also be life threatening. The most common form of food poisoning is caused by bacteria and include symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
Inflammation of the inner lining of the colon is referred to as colitis. Symptoms of the inflammation of the colon lining include diarrhea, pain, and blood in the stool. There are several causes of colitis including infection, ischemia of the colon, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease, Ulcerative colitis, or microscopic colitis). Treatment depends on the cause of the colitis.
Septic arthritis, or infectious arthritis, is infection of one or more joints by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Symptoms and signs of septic arthritis include fever, joint pain, chills, swelling, redness, warmth, and stiffness. Treatment involves antibiotics and the drainage of the infected joint.
Shigellosis is a disease caused by the Shigella bacteria. Bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever are common symptoms. Mild infections usually resolve on their own. Antibiotics are used to treat more severe cases.
Drug resistance (antimicrobial resistance) is the ability of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses to grow, even in the presence of a drug that would normally kill it (or limit it's growth). Drug resistance is a growing problem, particularly for infections such as MRSA, VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci), tuberculosis, HIV, STDs, gonorrhea, flu, pneumonia, malaria, E. coli, salmonella, Campylobacter, which causes diarrhea and gastroenteritis. Learn how to protect yourself from resistance to drugs.
Bioterrorism is a form of terrorism where there is the intentional release of biological agents such as viruses, germs, or bacteria. Diseases caused by bioterrorism agents include anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox, tularemia, brucellosis, food poisoning, Q fever, ricin toxin poisoning, cholera, epidemic typhus, viral encephalitis, XDR TB, and MDR TB.
Enterovirulent Escherichia coli (E. coli) are strains of related bacteria that have a strong propensity to cause gastrointestinal tract infections. Examples of strains include: EHEC (enterohemorrhagic E. coli), ETEC (enterotoxigenic E. coli), EPEC (enteropathogenic E. coli), EIEC (enteroinvasive E. coli), EAEC (enteroadherent E. coli), and EAggEC (enteroaggregative E. coli). Symptoms may vary depending on the strain the individual contracts. Infection is spread generally through contaminated food or drink.
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