Salmonella Oral Vaccine: 1.2 Million Sick, with 450 Deaths Annually – Many Develop Post-Infectious IBS and Post-Infectious Reactive Arthritis
Salmonella sickens about 1.2 million people in the United States every year, this according to the CDC. Of these victims, about 450 die each year. Most of these victims of food borne illness will not even know they have salmonella because many people do not seek medical attention; seek medical attention and do not have a stool culture or blood culture performed; or only have a stool or blood culture performed after they have been on antibiotics. Of the victims who are positively identified as part of an outbreak cluster, many of the illnesses cannot be traced to a particular source because there is insufficient data or information. Common sources of salmonella include raw fruits and vegetables; under-cooked meats (especially poultry and ground beef); or contaminated drinking water. Given these challenges, preventing salmonella poisoning is a monumental challenge facing all health and medical community.
Now, for the first time, researchers have announced that they may have developed a Salmonella Oral Vaccine for this deadly pathogen. The announcement came from the University of Texas Medical Branch which developed what they hope will immunize victims from salmonella. The development came from working on three genetically mutated strains of Salmonella Typhimurium. So far, the vaccines have prevented mice from dying after receiving lethal doses of salmonella.
Potential to Prevent Post-Infectious IBS? Post-Infectious Reactive Arthritis?
The hope is that this breakthrough will lead to a vaccine for humans, who as of now are forced to take antibiotics to ameliorate the effects of salmonella. This is becoming ever more difficult as antibiotic-resistant strains of salmonella are becoming more and more common, whether due to the high use of antibiotics in poultry and cattle, or the interaction of salmonellosis with humans who are taking antibiotics. The vaccine, whether in oral or injectable form, has the potential to save millions of lives.
There is also the hope that a vaccine could prevent some of the other horrific side-effects of salmonellosis, such as Post-Infectious IBS and Post-Infectious Reactive Arthritis. The thought is that if people can avoid acquiring acute cases of salmonella, perhaps the long-term effects of such illnesses will be dramatically reduced as well. Both Post-Infectious IBS and Post-Infectious Reactive Arthritis, along with antibiotic-resistant strains of Salmonella, seem to be appearing with greater frequency in recent years.
The Salmonella lawyers at Ron Simon & Associates are available to answer questions about salmonella or any other food borne illness or outbreak. Call 1-888-335-4901.
