Principles of Epidemiology
Module 1 Journal
6 September 2021
Module 1 Journal:
The two articles I chose to research were the impacts of eating raw dough, and an article
investigating multiple Salmonella breakouts caused by food over the past 15 years. The article
"Say No to Raw Dough" stood out to me because when I hear Salmonella I think of raw eggs
and cookie dough. Many people do not understand the risk associated with eating raw doughs
such as cookie dough. The article explaining various Salmonella outbreaks over the last few
years was very interesting and thorough when describing a variety of foods that have been
known to contain Salmonella.
After reading these two articles I learned that Salmonella causes food poisoning.
including abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Some serotypes [strains] of
Salmonella have more severe effects than others. There are roughly 2,000 serotypes of
Salmonella, and different types of Salmonella can cause more permanent damage such as
damage to DNA. Salmonella has also been known to cause Typhoid Fever.
The final project case study examines a group of 46 people who have contracted
Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) and investigates the sources and risk factors associated with this
infection. They concluded that 88% of these individuals had contracted SE from eggshells or egg
containing foods. This is similar to the article about eating cookie dough because the raw egg in
cookie dough is likely to contain some serotype of Salmonella. The difference is the case study
includes information about the shells of an egg containing Salmonella whereas the article only
consists of ingesting raw eggs. The second article about Salmonella Outbreaks includes foods
that many people would not even consider to contain Salmonella, such as prepackaged salads,
produce including papayas, onions, and melons, and even pistachios. This was very informative;
I didn't expect to see produce listed as a product known to contain Salmonella. This article gave
me a broader understanding of how Salmonella travels so quickly and so easily.
These two articles in addition to the final project resource have helped me understand that
Salmonella can cause a wide variety of diseases and symptoms. Every serotype of Salmonella
has its own characteristics, and the bacteria can affect humans differently depending on the type.
Salmonella is also considered to be a highly contagious bacterium, that can spread easily from
food or contaminated surfaces to people's hands and into their bodies
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, August 23). Outbreaks involving salmonella Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/outbreaks.html.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, January 7). Say no to raw dough. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/no-raw- dough.htm