Review of the Zoonotic Importance of Salmonellosis and Associated Risk Factors

Abstract

Salmonella is one of the most common and significant human and animal food-borne pathogens that cause salmonellosis, which has high medical and monetary costs. Salmonella has a big impact on public health because it can spread zoonotic and foodborne diseases to people. Many domestic and wild animals intestinal tracts serve as the main reservoir for Salmonella, which can result in the direct or indirect contamination of a variety of foods with fecal organisms. Salmonellae are etiological agents of diarrheal and systemic infections. They can be shed in large numbers on the faces of clinical cases and carrier animals, causing contamination of the environment and frequently resulting in subclinical infections. Infection in food animals often leads to contamination of meat, eggs, milk and cheese. The organism can also spread through direct contact with infected humans, animals, or feces contaminated environments. Infected food handlers may also act as a source of contamination for foodstuffs, because of the increasing antibiotic resistance of organisms and companion animals, animals are an important source of Salmonella infection for humans. Salmonella can colonize its hosts by invading, adhering, and bypassing the host’s intestinal defense mechanisms, such as gastric acid, thanks to a variety of virulence markers and determinants, including flagella, capsule, plasmids, adhesion systems, and secretion systems. Diagnosis is based on the isolation of the organism either from tissues collected aseptically at necropsy or from faces, rectal swabs or environmental samples, food products, and feedstuffs; prior or current infection of animals by some agents may also be diagnosed serologically.