Global impact of salmonellosis on health and economy

Abstract

Salmonella is 1 of 4 key global causes of diarrhoeal diseases. Salmonellosis is caused by various Salmonella serovars. It is one of the most common and widely distributed foodborne diseases. It constitutes a major public health burden and represents a significant cost in many countries. Millions of human cases of salmonellosis are reported worldwide every year resulting into thousands of deaths. This disease has become an important public health problem throughout the world which also contributes to negative economic impacts due to the cost of surveillance investigation, treatment and prevention of illness. Average fatality rate in Salmonella infections has been reported to be 5.3%, but certain serotypes can cause a fatality rate up to 21%. Higher case fatality rate has been observed among infants less than 12 months old and HIV patients. Multidrug resistant Salmonella Typhimurium definitive phage type (DT) 104 strains are responsible for a high number of infections in human beings and are primarily zoonotic in origin. CDC estimates Salmonella causes about 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths in the United States every year. The costs of food-borne Salmonella alone are estimated to reach up to € 2.8 billion annually in EU countries altogether. Salmonellosis can be prevented and controlled by treatment of patients with antibiotics in severe cases, adequate heat treatment of milk and meat and their products including eggs, hygienic measures and Salmonella testing on poultry farms and removal of infected poultry.