What Causes Salmonella Infections, and How to Avoid Becoming Sick - The New York Times

The bacteria are a leading cause of food poisoning. Here's how to avoid an infection.

Cantaloupe, diced onions, cookie dough, granola bars, charcuterie — what do these very different foods have in common?

They all have beencontaminated by salmonella, which sickens an estimated 1.35 million people in the United States each year. Infections from the bacteria — the most frequently reported cause of food-borne illness, according to the Department of Agriculture — can lead to symptoms such as fever, diarrhea and abdominal pain that may last for days.

People often get sick with salmonellosis, the infection caused by the bacteria, after eating undercooked meat or other contaminated foods, but the microbes can lurk in many other places, too. "There's all these different pathways that can lead to human illness," said Dr. Louise Francois Watkins, a physician with the Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here's what you need to know about these sneaky bacteria, and how to keep yourself and your family safe.

One reason so many people are infected each year is that the bacteria naturally grow in the intestines of several animals, including chickens, birds and cows, said Martin Wiedmann, a veterinarian and food scientist at the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Animals harboring the bacteria usually don't seem sick, said Dr. Francois Watkins.

When livestock are butchered, the bacteria in their intestines can contaminate the meat. One out of every 25 packages of chicken sold at grocery stores contains salmonella, according to the C.D.C. Anything that touches the raw meat can then become contaminated, Dr. Wiedmann said. If you touch the bacteria on a surface and then touch your mouth, you could get sick.

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