There are over 100,000 species of fungi and over 1 million bacteria. Many fungi are good and useful (edible mushrooms would be an example of these) while some cause problems (some fungi can injure plants and humans). Every week the IEQ Review will describe a specific microorganism, its morphological origin and potential health effects. If you would like to know about a specific organism and/or would like it published in The IEQ Review please email Dr. Rajiv Sahay with the Environmental Diagnostics Laboratory (EDL) at Pure Air Control Services laboratory@pureaircontrols.com.This week we will cover ... Salmonella
Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped Gram-negative enterbacteria that causes typhoid fever, paratyoid fever and foodborne illness. Salmonella species are motile and produce hydrogen sulfide. Salmonella was named after Daniel Elmer Salmon, an American veterinary pathologist, although it was his subordinate Theobald Smith who first discovered the bacterium in 1885 from pigs.
Disease-causing Salmonella species have recently been re-classified into a single species, Salmonella enerica, which has numerous serovars. Salmonella Typhi causes typoid fever. Other salmonellae are frequent causes of foodborne illness, especially from poultry and raw eggs and more generally from food that has been cooked or frozen, and not eaten straight away. More recently, Salmonella sp. was implicated in the Peter Pan peanut butter recall.
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