Salmonellosis is a bacterial disease usually characterized by an acute onset of gastroenteritis, with abdominal pain, nausea, headache, (occasionally) bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting.  The disease may have multiple manifestations and may progress from gastroenteritis into systemic disease, or may become localized in tissues far from the original site of infection.  It may produce pneumonia, septic arthritis, pyelonephritis, meningitis and endocarditis.  Systemic disease is uncommon and mortality is low.  Oral rehydration is generally the recommended therapy for cases of uncomplicated disease in persons with mature and competent immune systems. Antimicrobial management of disease is normally reserved only for the very young, the debilitated, persons with systemic infection and those with compromised immune systems. 

A great variety of wild and domestic animals, pets and reptiles serve as the reservoirs of Salmonella. Transmission to humans follows ingestion of under-cooked, contaminated meat products and other foods which have been either in contact with contaminated meat/poultry or have been contaminated with the fecal matter of an infected animal or person.  Raw or undercooked eggs are most frequently recognized by the general public as potential sources of   Salmonella, though raw milk, unpasteurized dairy products, meats, fruits, vegetables, salads and other foods may be implicated in transmission of the disease.

The following is a descriptive analysis of passively-reported surveillance data on Salmonella infections among Houston residents collected by the Bureau of Epidemiology from 1995 to 1999.

Salmonellosis in Houston
Salmonellosis was the fifth most commonly-reported infectious disease in Houston between the years 1995 to 1999, behind hepatitis C, hepatitis B, hepatitis A and shigellosis, with a total of 1,259 cases (average 252 annually).  Salmonella infection in Houston followed a remarkably predictable periodicity, with onsets regularly spiking between late June and October and sharply declining by November (Figure 1).  This pattern has also been observed on a national scale by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The average annual crude rate of infection in Houston for this period was 13.4 cases per 100,000.  (Click here for page 2)