1. Food Portion Distortion Quiz: Test Your Diet IQ
2. Food Frauds That Wreck Your Diet Slideshow
3. Foods That Help or Harm Your Sleep Slideshow

Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

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.

View Full Profile

Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa 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.

View Full Profile

Treatment for salmonellosis is controversial. Since the disease is often self-limited and some studies show no difference in outcomes between antibiotic-treated and untreated patient populations, many doctors recommend no antibiotics and cite evidence that antibiotics may prolong a carrier state. Other physicians disagree and treat with antibiotics for up to 10-14 days. Most physicians will treat patients with antibiotics if the patients are immunosuppressed (for example, patients that have AIDS, cancer, or the elderly). Usually, the antibiotics (fluoroquinolones or cephalosporins) are given orally for a few days until the fever stops. If Salmonella are isolated from the patient, the bacteria should be studied to determine if they are resistant to certain antibiotics so the physician can choose the most effective treatment. This needs to be done especially for patients with typhoid and paratyphoid fever because all these patients should be treated with antibiotics that are effective against these Salmonella spp.

Just like the problems seen with MRSA worldwide, multi-drug resistant S. spp serovars are being reported. Resistance to fluoroquinolone antibiotics has been reported to be as high as 41% in some S. typhi serovars. The use of an effective antibiotic is important since antibiotic therapy for typhoid and paratyphoid may be lengthy (five to seven days for uncomplicated cases, 10-14 days for severe infections, four to six weeks for septic and focal infections, and one to three months in S. spp carriers). Occasionally, surgery is required to treat a site of focal infection. For example, the infected gallbladder is removed in some patients who are carriers.

Must Read Articles Related to Salmonella

Abdominal Pain in Adults Abdominal pain in adults can range from a mild stomach ache to severe pain. Examples of causes of abdominal pain in adults include appendicitis, gallbladder dis...learn more >>

Abdominal Pain in Children Abdominal pain in children can range from trivial to life-threatening. Some possible causes of abdominal pain in children are: infections, food related (food al...learn more >>

Dehydration in Adults Dehydration occurs when the loss of body fluids (mostly water), exceeds the amount that is taken in. Causes of dehydration include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, di...learn more >>

See the Entire Salmonella Topic Guide »