Salmonellosis

Mhm.. Smoked Salmon..

I like salmon. Especially smoked salmon. It's also one of the only kinds of fish I'll eat without fussing. Until my stomach started acting up after eating smoked salmon for lunch.
I figured it was because my salmon was several days past the "Use By.." date. Either that, or it contained some pathogen. But the diarrhea was only short-lived and very mild, so I continued eating salmon, because smoked salmon is so very expensive (yeah, yeah, I'm a cheapskate, I know). I figured I was immune to the pathogen anyways, because when I continued eating the salmon on a daily basis, it never bothered me anymore.
2 weeks later, somewhere between the 4th and 6th of October, I received a letter from the store telling me that it might have been infected with Salmonella. Oops?

Sp!ts, October 18th, 2012

According to the Dutch National Institute for Health and Environment (RIVM), 950 were diagnosed with Salmonellosis caused by Salmonella Thompson. There were 3 confirmed deaths by Salmonella Thompson as well. Although the reported number is 950, I'm guessing the real numbers are over 1200, because some people are asymptomatic or didn't feel like visiting the doctor (like me.)
This particular strain of Salmonella came from a factory in Greece. After some research was done, it was said that the containers were faulty, allowing bacteria to reproduce freely inside the containers.

Sp!ts, October 19th, 2012

Bacterial/Viral/Fungal/Parasitic: Bacterial
Causative agent: Salmonella
Incubation time: 8 - 48 hours
Antibiotics of choice: - 
Antivirals of choice: -
Toxins / Factors: - 
Bioterrorism agent category: B
Vaccine available: Yes, being tested at the moment.

What's Salmonella anyway?
Salmonella is a bacteria belonging to the phylum Proteobacteria. It's a gram-negative rod, forming fimbriae to attach itself to its surroundings.
Unlike its cousin E. coli, it is generally a pathogenic bacteria.
It's also capable of exchanging R100, a plasmid containing genes for resistance against several antibiotics with its own kind, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Proteus and Shigella.
It's found in the intestines of humans and animals (both warm- and cold-blooded alike).

What does it (Salmonella) cause?
Typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever and food poisoning.

Symptoms
Food Poisoning:
- Fever
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea (sometimes with blood and/or mucus)
- Cramps
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Rose Spots

Diagnosis 
Your doctor will be asking you some questions regarding your health, your food/drink patterns, and your whereabouts. He/she may also wish to see your skin to see if you've formed rose spots.
Based on your answers, he/she might decide to order further tests.
*Blood culture
*Stool culture

Treatment
There's not a lot to be done. The symptoms (if any) will resolve within a week for food poisoning.
Pain killers and antipyretics(fever reducers) may be given. For the rest, you should keep yourself hydrated, as all the diarrhea will take a toll on you. You will be feeling like crap if your immune system isn't used to it. Take plenty of rest, drink and eat if you can. Sports drinks like Aquarius and Gatorade are magnificent, as are crisps/chips.

People suffering severe dehydration might be hospitalized and stabilized with IV fluids. Antibiotics might be given to the weak.

Dutch Healthcare workers: When 2 or more patients with salmonellosis come in, and they may have eaten from a common food source, you HAVE to notify the RIVM. These people may not work until their body is free of the pathogen. (Category B2)