Stool - culture for Salmonella and Shigella

Fecal screening for Salmonella and Shigella

In the case of Salmonella, the sourced of infection is the sick/carrier human/animal. The reservoir can be: infected water, food (drb, eggs, dairy products), objects. The form that causes gastrointestinal complaints is caused by S. enteritidis, whichra can cause transient carriage (be excreted in the stool for up to several months). However, other types of this bacterium like S. typhi (which causes typhoid fever) pose the risk of even remaining in the ducts and gallbladder of a recovered person for life. Shigella dysenteriae, which causes bacterial dysentery, is detected in the feces at a higher rate once it has subsided, but the amount of bacteria thatra is needed to infect another person is much lower in its case.

People whore passing the infection asymptomatically or with mild digestive symptoms, excrete the pathogens with their feces and pose a risk to other members of the community, including children. In them, the course of the disease can be more rapid, leading to hospitalization for dehydration (with water-electrolyte disturbances, dry skinry, decreased urination) or sepsis (with fever, drop in blood pressure, increased heart rate, seizures and impaired consciousness). In addition, microorganisms can turn out to be insusceptible (unresponsive) to routinely used antibiotics, which prolongs and complicates treatment.

Hence the need for measures thatre preventing the spread of infections, such as:

• education of the public on how Shigella, Salmonella infections spread and progress
• observance of principles of personal hygiene (washing hands, proper storage and thermal protection of food, disinfection of surfaces and common equipments, attention to the state of cleanliness of the kitchen and consumption of foods from verified sources)
• in workplaces, adherence to regulationsing to ensure proper food processingrules
• accurate, rapid diagnosis, reporting and monitoring of each case of food poisoning, especially affecting a larger number of peopleb (always strive to determine the sourceof infection, identify contaminated food or contaminated water intake)

When to perform stool cultures for Salmonella and Shigella?

This test is a screening test used as part of prophylaxis to:

• control the prevalence status of asymptomatic bacterial carriage in the population
• prevent the spread of infections, especiallylly among individualslly susceptible to them

Who should perform stool cultures for Salmonella and Shigella?

• Persons without symptoms ofinfection, wishing to work in occupations with a risk of spreading the pathogensw (positions related to production, food processing, food dispensing, drugmanufacturing;w, preparation of water for human consumption; positions of health care workers, medical studentsw, health care facilitiesw; professions involving work with children under 6 years of age)
• persons whove had a gastrointestinal tract infection, specifying its exact cause (bacterial species) or not (characteristic symptoms: diarrhea of a varied nature, abdominal crampsle, elevated temperature, stomach complaints, dizziness, weakness and lethargy)
• persons who&oac;ve had contact with a person with a history of infection, with or without its identified etiology
• persons at risk of severe gastrointestinal microbial infections (young children, the elderly, with weakened immunity, altered physiological flora of the gastrointestinal tract, e.g. in the course of chronic inflammation or antibiotic therapy)