What are Precautions Against Salmonella Infection?

Within the last few years, Salmonella infection has been a major concern.  Although anyone can get a Salmonella infection, according to the Center for Disease Control, CDC, children younger than 5 years, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are at increased risk for serious illness. In these people, swallowing a relatively small number of Salmonella bacteria can cause severe illness.

In food-producing animals, antibiotics are widely used.

 

 According to data published by the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, more antibiotics are sold nationally for food-producing animals than for people. These antibiotics contribute to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in food-producing animals.   This bacteria has been found in chicken.  To eliminate Salmonella in chicken, we need to wash hands with warm soapy water for 20 seconds, separate raw chicken from other foods, cook chicken internally to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and keep food chilled within one to two hours outside of a refrigerator.

You can also get Salmonella from perfectly normal-looking eggs.  Salmonella can live on both the outside and inside of eggs that appear to be normal.  Because chicken feces on the outside of egg shells used to be a common cause of Salmonella contamination, in the 1970s, regulators put strict procedures into place for cleaning and inspecting eggs.  Now, if Salmonella is found on the inside of eggs; it gets there as the egg is forming, it cannot squeeze through the shell.

You may think you are safe from salmonella if you take these precautions against chicken or if you are a vegetarian.

 

Not so fast.  It has been found that those cute little pet turtles commonly carry bacteria called Salmonella on their outer skin and shell surfaces.  Actually, lizards, snakes, amphibians, frogs, salamanders, and newts also carry Salmonella.

People who usually get Salmonella infections are infants, young children, elderly people, and people with lowered natural resistance to infection due to pregnancy, cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and other diseases.

Products created because bacteria may survive for a long period of time on surfaces

GT50 Professional Grade Plug-In Air Purifier
Proven small space air-purifier, designed to purify the air in areas up to 50 SF.
Weighs 5 oz. and is ideal for bathrooms, laundry rooms, office work stations, janitorial closets, trash areas, pet areas, and under or next to the kitchen sink-anywhere harmful bacteria may pose a problem.

                    



WOPUTUO Portable Phone Cleaner
UV light sterilizer for mobile phone.
Proven germicidal UV light to eliminate 99% of germs and bacteria.
Includes an accessories basket for use with smaller items such as headphones, MP3 players, earbuds, and bluetooth headsets.





Seventh Generation Disinfecting Multi-Surface Wipes Herbal scented wipe that kills over 99.99% of household germs, specifically: Influenza A viruses including H1N1, Rhinovirus (type 37, the Common Cold virus), Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa on hard, nonporous surfaces.




Surfaces such as countertops, tabletops, bare floors, and carpeting can also become contaminated with the bacteria if the turtle is allowed to roam on them. The bacteria may survive for a long period of time on these surfaces, according to the FDA.
 

Because young children are more vulnerable to the effects of Salmonella, since 1975, FDA has banned the sale of turtles with a shell less than four inches long.

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