What is Salmonella?
Salmonella bacteria cause approximately 1.35 million cases of gastrointestinal illness, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths in the United States each year 
. Most of these infections cause the foodborne illness known as salmonellosis. Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi cause typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever, respectively.
Preventing the Spread of Salmonella
Salmonella can spread by the following means :
- Eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water
- Touching infected animals, their feces, or their environment
- Touching contaminated surfaces (such as countertops, cutting boards, diaper changing tables, and toilets) and then not properly washing your hands afterwards
Regular hand hygiene and surface disinfection are important preventative measures. Since this bacterium can be found in contaminated water, proper water purification is a vital component in preventing the spread of Salmonella. Since household wells can be a source of Salmonella infection, they should be tested regularly and properly maintained. Pools and other recreational water sources should be properly disinfected. These bacteria can also be spread through food — either due to poor hand hygiene of food handlers or because raw produce is irrigated or washed with contaminated water. Wash all fruits and vegetables well under running water and cook meat thoroughly .
Get Additional Protection with Germicidal UV Disinfection
In addition to the above preventative measures, Germicidal Ultraviolet (UV-C) surface disinfection (at the dosage listed below) can inactivate the Salmonella in many applications. Our products use STER-L-RAY® Germicidal UV-C Lamps producing ultraviolet wavelengths at 254 nanometers, the region of germicidal effectiveness most destructive to harmful microorganisms.
Germicidal Ultraviolet (UV-C) Water Purification can inactivate Salmonella in drinking water or water used for food preparation. View our application page on Well Water Contamination for more information on how UV purification can help protect your well water against Salmonella and other harmful microorganisms. Germicidal UV Disinfection can also be used to protect pools and other recreational water sources from various pathogens . Restaurants, retailers, and meat processing facilities will benefit by adding UV-C surface disinfection to their regular sanitizing procedures. View our application-specific page on UV-C in Meat Processing. Another benefit of installing UV water purifiers is the ability to operate as usual during a boil water alert.
Salmonella: Classification & Germicidal UV Dose for Inactivation
| Organism: | Alternate Name: | Type: | Disease: | UV Dose*: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salmonella enteritidis | S. enteritidis | Bacteria | — | 7.60 mJ/cm2 |
| Salmonella paratyphi | S. paratyphi | Bacteria | Enteric Fever | 6.10 mJ/cm2 |
| Salmonella typhimurium | S. typhimurium | Bacteria | — | 15.20 mJ/cm2 |
| Salmonella typhi | S. typhi | Bacteria | Typhoid Fever | 7.0 mJ/cm2 |
Where is it found?
What can it infect?
How does it spread?
People at High Risk for Contracting an Infection
While anyone can contract a Salmonella infection, certain groups of people are more likely to develop disease:
- Children under 5 years old
- Infants (children younger than 12 months) who are not breast-fed
- People 65 years and older
- Those with weakened immune systems
- People taking certain medicines (like stomach acid reducers)
Salmonella Symptoms:
Most people infected with Salmonella experience the following symptoms. Some people also have nausea, vomiting, or a headache:
- Diarrhea (that can be bloody)
- Fever
- Stomach cramps
Symptoms usually start within 6 hours–6 days after infection and last 4–7 days
Sources on Salmonella:
The above information can be found on the following pages. Please read complete articles to learn more.
- FDA: Salmonella (Salmonellosis)
- CDC: Four Steps to Food Safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill
- CDC: Foods That Can Cause Food Poisoning
* Nominal germicidal UV dosage necessary to inactivate better than 99% of microorganism.
- James E. Cruver, Ph.D., “Spotlight on Ultraviolet Disinfection”, Water Technology, June 1984.
- Dr. Robert W. Legan, “Alternative Disinfection Methods-A Comparison of UV and Ozone”, Industrial Water Engineering, Mar/Apr 1982.
- Myron Lupal, “UV Offers Reliable Disinfection”, Water Conditioning & Purification, November 1993.
- Bak Srikanth, “The Basic Benefits of Ultraviolet Technology”, Water Conditioning & Purification, December 1995.
Learn More & Shop Our Products to Inactivate Salmonella
Made in the USA from U.S. and imported parts, the UV Air & Surface Disinfection and UV Water Purification product lines from Atlantic Ultraviolet Corporation® are constructed of the highest quality materials and use germicidal UV-C lamps to disinfect air, surfaces, and water, inactivating microorganisms like Salmonella.
Learn Here! Ultraviolet.com
- Download UV-C Air & Surface Documents from our PDF Library
- View all our Blog Posts for UV-C Air & Surface Disinfection
- Download UV-C Water Purification Documents from our PDF Library
- View all our Blog Posts for UV-C Water Purification
- View our Well Water Contamination Application Page
- View our Boil Water Alert Application Page
- View our Meat Processing Application Page
- View all the applications that can benefit from Germicidal UV-C
- Learn about STER-L-RAY® Germicidal Ultraviolet Lamps
Shop Here! BuyUltraviolet.com
- Shop UV-C Air & Surface Disinfection
- Shop UV-C Water Purification
- Shop STER-L-RAY® Germicidal UV Lamps
- Compare all UV-C Air & Surface Disinfection models
- Compare all UV-C Water Purification models
Contact Our UV Application Specialists
- Call (631) 273-0500, Monday–Friday 7am to 6pm EST
- Email Sales@AtlanticUV.com
- Fill out our contact form
CM-000414
View our Infographic on Salmonella
