Salmonella
Medical Author:
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhDDr. 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. Medical Editor:
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical EditorMelissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Salmonella OverviewSalmonella are a group of closely related rod-shaped, Gram-stained negative bacteria that have flagella (tail-like structures used for movement). Salmonella types are further characterized by specific proteins found on the bacterial and flagellar surface. Each different combination of protein coats is termed a serovar. Serovars are distinguished usually by special laboratories with immunologic tests. The nomenclature of specific types of Salmonella has changed in recent decades. Currently, many investigators consider the over 2,500 serovars to be members of only two species, S. enterica or S. bongori. However, many serovars were considered to be and named as individual species in the past before more sophisticated genetic methods to characterize separate species were available. Consequently, many of the old serovar names are still seen in the medical literature, such as S. enteritidis, S. typhimurium, S. typhi, and S. choleraesuis. In other cases, doctors simply avoid the name problem and identify all isolates as Salmonella spp (species) since the bacteria of this group are so closely related. Salmonella infections cause diseases in humans (for example, salmonellosis, gastroenteritis, typhoid fever, and paratyphoid fever), animals, and birds. They are one of the major causes of gastroenteritis in both industrialized and third world countries. Salmonella were first isolated from infected pigs in 1885 by Theobald Smith and were named after his lab director, D. E. Salmon. Viewer Comments & ReviewsSalmonella - SymptomsThe eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:What symptoms did you experience with Salmonella? Salmonella - Describe Your Symptoms ExperiencedThe eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:What were the symptoms and signs you experienced with Salmonella infection? |
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Salmonella
Dehydration in Adults Overview
Dehydration is a condition that can occur when the loss of body fluids, mostly water, exceeds the amount that is taken in. With dehydration, more water is moving out of individual cells and then out of the body than the amount of water that is taken in through drinking. Medically, dehydration usually means a person has lost enough fluid so that the body begins to lose its ability to function normally, and begins to produce symptoms related to the fluid loss.
People (and animals) lose water every day in the form of water vapor in the breath we exhale, and as water in our sweat, urine, and stool. Along with the water, small amounts of salts or electrolytes are also lost. Our bodies are constantly readjusting the balance between water (and salts or electrolytes) losses with fluid intake. When we lose too much water, our bodies may become out of balance or dehydrated. Most doctors divide dehydration into three stages: 1) mild, 2) mod...
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