Affiliation:
1. Departamento de Microbiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62210, Mexico
2. Center for Microbial Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-1010
Abstract
ABSTRACT
There are >2,600 recognized serovars of
Salmonella enterica
. Many of these
Salmonella
serovars have a broad host range and can infect a wide variety of animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects. In addition,
Salmonella
can grow in plants and can survive in protozoa, soil, and water. Hence, broad-host-range
Salmonella
can be transmitted via feces from wild animals, farm animals, and pets or by consumption of a wide variety of common foods: poultry, beef, pork, eggs, milk, fruit, vegetables, spices, and nuts. Broad-host-range
Salmonella
pathogens typically cause gastroenteritis in humans. Some
Salmonella
serovars have a more restricted host range that is associated with changes in the virulence plasmid pSV, accumulation of pseudogenes, and chromosome rearrangements. These changes in host-restricted
Salmonella
alter pathogen-host interactions such that host-restricted
Salmonella
organisms commonly cause systemic infections and are transmitted between host populations by asymptomatic carriers. The secondary consequences of efforts to eliminate host-restricted
Salmonella
serovars demonstrate that basic ecological principles govern the environmental niches occupied by these pathogens, making it impossible to thwart
Salmonella
infections without a clear understanding of the human, animal, and environmental reservoirs of these pathogens. Thus, transmission of
S. enterica
provides a compelling example of the One Health paradigm because reducing human infections will require the reduction of
Salmonella
in animals and limitation of transmission from the environment.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Cell Biology,Microbiology (medical),Genetics,General Immunology and Microbiology,Ecology,Physiology