The risk of diseases caused by salmonella bacilli has increased in recent months, in particular in association with the consumption of lamb and mutton, among others. Health experts sounded the alarm. The FSA (Food Standards Agency) of the United Kingdom points the finger at the bacilli of the genus Salmonella Typhimurium: from July 2017 until May this year the cases reported were 118, but in the last 4 months there were other 165 cases : hence the need for the FSA to issue a public statement about the preparation and consumption of raw meat. "A probable cause of the increase in cases specifically of Bacillus Salmonella Typhimurium is the cross-contamination of meat from affected sheep," said Nick Phin, director of the National Infection Service at the public health agency Public Health England. "People can be infected in different ways, for example by not cooking meat well, not washing their hands after touching raw meat, or by contaminating other foods, surfaces and cooking utensils." These are alarming figures, given that before the 2017 the cases of Salmonella reported were only two. The head of operations of the FSA, Dr. Colin Sullivan, wishes to clarify that not only lamb and mutton, but all meat must be prepared with the utmost care. The National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion of the Higher Institute of Health reminds us that salmonella is the most commonly isolated bacterial agent in cases of foodborne infections, both sporadic and epidemic. It was reported for the first time in the 1886, in a case of swine fever, by the American physician Daniel Elmer Salmon. Salmonella is naturally occurring with more than 2000 variants (so-called serotypes), but the most common strains in humans and animal species, particularly those bred for the food chain, are S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium. The infections caused by salmonella are distinguished in typhoid forms (S. typhi and S. paratyphi, responsible for typhoid fever and enteric fevers in general), in which man is the only reservoir of the microorganism, and non-typhoid forms, caused by the so-called minor salmonella (as S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis), responsible for clinical forms with prevalent gastroenteric manifestation. Non-typhoidal salmonella, responsible for more than 50% of total gastrointestinal infections, are one of the most frequent causes of food-borne diseases in the industrialized world. Salmonella spp. Infections they can occur in humans and in domestic and farm animals (chickens, pigs, cattle, rodents, dogs, cats, chicks) and wild animals, including domestic reptiles (iguanas and water turtles). The main reservoirs of infection are represented by animals and their derivatives (such as meat, eggs and milk consumed raw or unpasteurized) and the environment (non-drinking water) represent the vehicles of infection. The severity of symptoms varies from simple disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea) to more severe clinical forms (bacteraemia or focal infections for example of bones and meninges) that occur mainly in fragile individuals (elderly, children and individuals with deficiencies in the immune system). Symptoms of the disease may appear between 6 and 72 hours from the ingestion of contaminated food (but more commonly occur after 12-36 hours) and continue for 4-7 days. In most cases the disease has a benign course and does not require hospitalization, but sometimes the infection can worsen to the point where hospitalization is necessary. The board, highlights Giovanni D'Agata, president of the "Rights Window", Is to be more careful about how you keep your food and how to prepare and handle raw meat. Wash your hands thoroughly after touching raw meat, avoiding contamination of other foods in the kitchen and storing it separately in the fridge, using different cutting boards and knives, and making sure to cook it well, especially in the case of lamb. Regarding the hygiene rules to be respected from the food point of view, it should be remembered that salmonella bacteria are easily eliminated through a good cooking, but few know that the sterilizing effect of cooking heat of the meat is canceled if, for example, the knife used to cut the raw meat is used shortly thereafter to cut the cooked meat, without proper washing between one operation and another. Equally dangerous is the habit of breaking eggs underestimating the potential infectious charge of the shell. It is good to remember that small cracks in the shell can allow the entry of the bacterium that may be present in the feces of the hen into the egg. In the world, it is estimated that the 50% of the salmonella epidemics is due to contaminated eggs, while the beef and pork (consumed raw or undercooked) and the milk derivatives can cause, respectively, 15% and 5% of cases .
