Symptoms of Salmonella Infection
Symptoms of Salmonella infection include painful abdominal cramps, diarrhea and often fever.
Salmonella infections can have a broad range of illness, from no symptoms to severe illness. The most common clinical presentation is acute gastroenteritis. Symptoms include diarrhea and abdominal cramps, often accompanied by fever of 100°F to 102°F (38°C to 39°C). [4, 5] Other symptoms may include bloody diarrhea, vomiting, headache and body aches.
The incubation period, or the time from ingestion of the bacteria until the symptoms start, is generally 6 to 72 hours; however, there is evidence that in some situations the incubation can be longer than 10 days. [6, 7] People with salmonellosis usually recover without treatment within 3 to 7 days. [5] Nonetheless, the bacteria will continue to be present in the intestinal tract and stool for weeks after recovery of symptoms—on average, 1 month in adults and longer in children. [6]
S. Typhi and Paratyphi generally cause a bacteremic illness—Salmonella found in the blood—of long duration. This illness is called enteric, typhoid, or paratyphoid fever. [5] Symptoms start gradually, and include fever, headache, malaise, lethargy, and abdominal pain. In children, it can present as a non-specific fever. The incubation period for S. Typhi is usually 8 to 14 days, but it can range from 3 to 60 days. [5, 6] For S. Paratyphi infections, the incubation period is similar to that of non-typhoidal Salmonella, 1 to 10 days. [5,6]
