Symptoms and treatment of salmonellosis in children

Children who contract the common bacterial infection salmonellosis may experience a variety of uncomfortable and potentially dangerous symptoms. Contaminated food or water is frequently the first step, resulting in fever, upset stomach, and other digestive problems. It’s critical for parents to identify the symptoms early and know how to help their children.

Compared to adults, children are more susceptible to contracting salmonellosis, and their symptoms may also be more severe. Knowing the main signs, like diarrhea and stomach pain, will enable you to act quickly to make sure your child receives the care they require.

Typically, treatment consists of symptom management and hydration maintenance. Nonetheless, in more severe situations, medical attention might be necessary. This post will help you identify the symptoms of salmonellosis in your child and will advise you on what to do next.

What is it

Both humans and animals can contract "salmonellosis," an acute intestinal infection. Furthermore, the bulk of the patients overall are young children, either in preschool or school age. Nonetheless, newborns and infants can be diagnosed with the disease. Everyone is susceptible to infection. The illness is pretty serious, particularly in infants. Since it is more difficult to follow all food storage regulations in hot weather, salmonellosis, like most intestinal infections, is more likely to occur in the summer.

If a child contracts salmonellosis, they need to receive prompt and appropriate medical attention. A large part of this care is dependent on the parents’ ability to identify the early symptoms of bacterial infection.

Early detection of symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and stomach cramps is crucial when diagnosing children with salmonellosis. Keeping the child hydrated, making sure they get enough sleep, and occasionally administering doctor-prescribed medication are the usual forms of treatment. Effective management of the illness and avoidance of complications can be achieved by being aware of what to look for and how to respond.

Causes

Salmonella is the disease-causing agent; it is a rod-shaped bacterium. Although the microbe is widely distributed, it cannot claim to be exceptionally robust or healthy. When heated to 50–55 degrees, salmonella quickly perishes; however, it does not perish when frozen. Sunlight does not appeal to the rod. The intestines of both humans and animals provide the perfect environment for bacteria to grow. Microbes thrive at 37 degrees, which is also the temperature at which they can multiply. Salmonella exhibits highly aggressive behavior not only towards its carrier but also towards its fellow bacteria when it gets inside a child’s body.

The bacteria starts to produce a potent toxin that kills some of the other salmonella, which are its rivals in the habitat’s redistribution, if it has adhered to the intestinal wall. The toxin has an impact on the child’s body, resulting in gastrointestinal distress and intoxication symptoms. Another unpleasant characteristic of this toxin is that it causes the body to rapidly lose water through the intestines. This puts a child at risk for severe dehydration quickly.

More than 1,600 salmonella serotypes are known to science. Certain microbes, including those that cause typhoid fever, can also cause typhus; not all cause salmonellosis.

Ways of infection

• Food route. Infection occurs when eating animal products containing the bacteria. Usually, this is chicken, fish, meat, milk, eggs that have not been sufficiently cooked (the microbe dies when heated).
• Contact route. In this case, infection occurs from child to child with shared toys, a pacifier. A child can be infected by adults who care for him. The microbe first gets on the skin or mucous membranes and is gradually transferred by the child to the mouth.

• Vertical route. This is the transmission of salmonella from mother to child during pregnancy.
• Air route. Such infection does not occur often, but it is not excluded. The child inhales bacteria with dust, air in the center of infection. For example, a kindergarten can become such a center if several children have already fallen ill there, or a school class.
• Water route. The microbe enters the child"s body with water

Children typically contract the disease after coming into contact with stray animals. As a result, you should consider your options carefully before letting your kids pet a stray dog or cat.

Danger and consequences

Particularly for infants and young children under one year old, salmonellosis poses a serious risk. A particular type of microbial toxin can cause severe complications in a number of organs and systems, most commonly the nervous system, and can cause rapid dehydration, which can be fatal.

The disease will only damage the intestinal walls if the immune system is robust enough; the toxin’s impact on other body parts will be negligible. However, children’s natural defenses are still developing, so they typically cannot boast of having strong immunity. For this reason, every baby, without exception, is in danger.

Premature babies, sick children, children with chronic illnesses, and children with compromised immune systems are at a higher risk of developing severe cases of salmonellosis.

A child who has recovered from the illness still presents a risk to other kids because, in the case of a mild case, bacteria can linger in the environment for up to 4 weeks, and in the case of a severe case, up to 3 months or longer. The baby is contagious for this duration.

Recurrence of the infection happens when there is insufficient development of immunity to the bacteria.

The risk of chronicity adds to the disease’s danger: if treatment is given improperly, chronic salmonellosis will turn the child into more than just a bacterium carrier; unpleasant and potentially fatal relapses will occasionally happen.

It is estimated that 0.2-0.5% of children die from salmonellosis. Most of the time, it can be completed without any issues.

Incubation period

Children differ significantly in how long the incubation period lasts; for some, it takes as little as six hours, while for others, it takes up to three days. However, the incubation period typically lasts between 12 and 24 hours.

If significant symptoms of an intestinal infection appear after this, they indicate an acute course of the illness. Sometimes the symptoms vanish or don’t show up at all. These kids end up spreading the bacteria. While they are carriers, they do not themselves get sick, but they actively spread the disease to those around them without even realizing it.

Newborns typically experience a shorter incubation period than older children. The disease usually takes 2-4 days to develop, but occasionally it takes 3–5 hours.

Symptoms

Usually, the disease’s initial symptoms appear right after the incubation period is over. The following are typical signs of an intestinal infection:

• Fever. The fever can be high, up to 38.5-39.0 degrees, but more often there is a rise in temperature at 37.5-38.0 degrees.
• Weakness. Under the influence of the toxin on the nervous system, the child becomes depressed, sleepy, capricious, and has a headache.
• Digestive disorders. With salmonellosis, there is frequent loose stool. The feces are watery, foamy, with a sharp unpleasant odor. Vomiting is pronounced and frequent.
• Abdominal pain. Abdominal pain can be accompanied by increased gas formation, a feeling of distension, heaviness.

The course of the illness can be either intestinal or generalized, depending on the specific serotype of bacteria that caused it. In the latter case, other organs and systems may become involved in the pathogenic process.

The neurological system is typically affected, the liver and spleen may enlarge, and in more severe cases of the illness, renal failure may develop in the context of extreme dehydration.

Children’s salmonellosis frequently presents with uncomfortable symptoms originating from the cardiovascular system. There is a drop in blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, and an accelerated pulse.

On the second or third day following acute intestinal problems, a generalized form of the illness may occasionally develop in the absence of support and proper care. In this instance, symptoms might resemble those of typhus. Along with everything mentioned above, there is also a tiny, pinpoint hemorrhagic rash that develops on the skin.

Newborns and children in their first year of life exhibit unique symptoms of salmonellosis. Typically, these tiny patients exhibit the following "set" of symptoms:

• Abundant frequent regurgitation. It will differ from physiological regurgitation in frequency and volume, as well as the sour smell of the rejected masses.
• Severe anxiety and sleep disturbances. This is the effect of salmonella toxin, which causes overexcitation. The poison has a stronger effect on babies than on older children.
• Bloating. The baby"s tummy looks swollen, like a frog"s, loose stools with mucus impurities, colic are possible.

• Signs of dehydration. Such signs include crying without tears, cold extremities, cyanosis under the eyes, in the nasolabial triangle, dry skin.
• Fontanelle sunken. The fontanelle looks slightly concave inward.

However, the baby’s temperature might only increase a few days after the illness first manifests.

Diagnostics

Because the symptoms of salmonellosis and other intestinal viral and bacterial infections are so similar, it can be challenging to differentiate between the two. The truth will come to light through laboratory diagnostics, which are always performed at the first sign of a salmonella infection.

In the event that a child is suspected of having this illness, every effort is made to place him in a hospital that specializes in infectious diseases, and all research is conducted there.

Bacterial culture is still thought to be the most accurate and dependable method. Samples of vomit and excrement are collected for analysis.

Under laboratory conditions, microorganisms are grown on a nutrient medium. The microbes that were obtained undergo identification by type, family, and serotype. Additionally, the antibiotics to which they are susceptible are determined. This enables selection of the appropriate medication for treatment.

One of the drawbacks of bacteriological analysis is that the growth process can take several days, or even up to a week and a half.

Naturally, treatment cannot be provided to the child at this time. In order to confirm that the doctors’ versions were accurate, the materials are sent for bacterial culture, but they also promptly turn to alternative diagnostics.

Express analysis relies on the use of specialized test systems that use the immunofluorescence method to identify antibodies to salmonella. If a skilled laboratory technician performs this test, you can quickly determine if salmonella is present in the body. Unfortunately, the test cannot identify the specific type of bacteria that caused the infection.

The child will have multiple blood draws for serological analysis throughout the course of treatment, enabling us to assess the efficacy of the intervention. Antibodies will be counted in a laboratory setting, and the dynamics of growth and decline will be evaluated.

Treatment

Because salmonella have coexisted with humans for so long, they have acquired enough resistance to a wide range of antibiotics. As such, killing them with aminoglycosides and tetracyclines is nearly impossible. However, fluoroquinolone antibiotics and members of the penicillin group of antibiotics can be very effective.

They make an effort to avoid giving the child antibiotic therapy in cases of mild illness. Clinical signs like blood impurities in the feces serve as the primary indication for the use of these drugs. In mild cases, antibiotics are not necessary at all if there is no blood.

Treatment for milder forms of the illness can be done at home. Parents must, of course, carefully adhere to all of the doctor’s advice.

A child with confirmed salmonellosis should receive an enema and have their stomach cleaned out during the first day or two. After washing, calcium preparations are prescribed in an age-appropriate dosage if the baby has frequent loose stools.

Additionally, it is necessary to take oral rehydration medications such as "Smecta," "Regidron," "Humana Electrolyte," and others after prolonged diarrhea and repeated vomiting.

Such solutions should be given to the child to drink frequently and in large amounts.

Use a non-needle syringe to administer the solutions if the infant won’t drink on his own. Pour the liquid along the inside of the cheek. In this manner, the infant will be less likely to spit everything back out right away.

By restoring the water balance and mineral salts, these solutions help stop dehydration from occurring. You should also offer the child regular warm water, sugar-free dried fruit compote, and weak tea to drink in addition to these solutions.

You should go back to the hospital if it is not possible to give the child anything to drink. There, doctors will monitor the child while they receive intravenous electrolytes to prevent dehydration.

It is advised that the child follow a strict diet. You don’t need to feed the baby at all while the acute stage is in full swing; plenty of fluids will be plenty. If the child asks for food on the second or third day, they start serving lighter fare that won’t aggravate the stomach and intestines further.

Outright forbidden:

• milk and dairy products;
• products containing animal fats;
• chocolate;
• sour fruits and berries;

• seasonings and spices;
• smoked products;
• carbonated water;
• pickled food;
• fried food.

The following is a list of foods and dishes that you can give your child:

• porridge-smear without milk and butter;
• soup with vegetable broth;
• boiled fish;
• steamed cutlets made from lean meat;
• jelly.

Food prepared for the child must first be cooled to room temperature; you cannot serve them hot food.

Overeating cannot be tolerated. As the child heals, the amount of food is progressively increased; by the time the treatment is over, the child will have consumed a full portion from a small amount of broth or porridge.

The most often prescribed antibiotics are "Suprax," "Cefixime," and for diarrhea, "Enterofuril" in capsule form. While it is an antimicrobial agent, it is not regarded as an antibiotic in the strict sense of the word.

Intramuscular administration of antibiotics belonging to the penicillin group is recommended for infections that are widespread.

Taking a specific salmonella bacteriophage—a virus that is artificially grown and feeds on salmonella—is the most effective treatment for most mild to moderate cases of illness.

There are two dosage forms for the medication "Salmonella bacteriophage": liquid and tablet.

With strict age-related dosage guidelines, the medication can be administered to newborns as well. The medication can be injected intraperitoneally (i.e., given as an enema) orally.

Vitamins, potassium preparations, antipyretics if the temperature goes above 38.0 degrees, and probiotics and prebiotics for the last stages of treatment are also prescribed for children.

On average, ten days are needed to treat salmonellosis if all of the doctor’s instructions are followed.

Children"s salmonellosis – features

Infants and newborns are frequently diagnosed with a particular form of salmonellosis, which is caused by an infection with a hospital bacillus, an infection resistant to practically all antibiotics and antiseptics.

Most often, it is injected into the baby’s body in a children’s hospital or maternity home. Treatment is time-consuming and difficult. It’s not advisable to self-medicate.

Many times, a child who is allergic starts to experience chronic allergic reactions to certain foods, like milk and chicken eggs, after contracting salmonella at a very young age.

The likelihood that the illness will have detrimental effects on the child’s body decreases with age.

Symptoms	Treatment
Fever, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea	Keep your child hydrated and offer small sips of water or oral rehydration solutions
Weakness and loss of appetite	Encourage rest and give light meals that are easy to digest
Dehydration (dry mouth, little or no urine)	If signs of dehydration appear, seek medical help immediately
Headache and muscle pain	Consult a doctor for appropriate medications to reduce symptoms

Early detection of salmonellosis symptoms can significantly impact your child’s prognosis. As soon as you experience symptoms such as fever, stomach pain, or diarrhea, you should consult a doctor.

You can help shield your child from salmonellosis by being aware of how the infection spreads and taking precautions. The first line of defense in lowering the risk is proper food handling and hygiene.

The main goals of treating your child for salmonellosis are to manage symptoms and keep them hydrated. Antibiotics may be prescribed by a physician in more severe situations. Always heed the advice of a medical professional to guarantee your child’s complete recovery.

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