Infected with salmonella?

The symptoms of salmonella infection are diarrhoea, stomachache, fever, headache and sometimes nausea and vomiting. Salmonella often causes bowel infection and about 1% of the infected get blood poisoning.

The condition can last from a couple of days to several weeks. In the rare cases where salmonella causes blood poisoning, the condition can be prolonged.

One often falls ill ½ - 2 days after consumption of salmonella infected food. The amount of bacteria it takes to make human fall ill differs from less than 10 bacteria to 100,000 bacteria pr gram of foodstuff. It depends on the foodstuff and the person’s condition in general. It e.g. only takes few bacteria if food is rich – like chocolate and snacks.

When should you seek medical help?
If the illness becomes serious or is prolonged you should seek medical help. If you suspect that a specific foodstuff causes the infection, a doctor can make a report to the health inspector who will know if other people from the same city or council have been infected.

Asides from calling the doctor, you – or your doctor – can contact the nearest regional food authority, which will be able to help determine the cause of the disease.