MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET - INFECTIOUS SUBSTANCES

SECTION I - INFECTIOUS AGENT

NAME: Salmonella choleraesuis

SYNONYM OR CROSS REFERENCE: Salmonellosis, Salmonella septicemia, hog cholera, hog typhoid, Salmonella choleraesuis serotype choleraesuis, Salmonella enterica serotype choleraesuis

CHARACTERISTICS: Family Enterobacteriaceae; Gram negative rod; motile, aerobic and facultatively anaerobic: serological identification of somatic and flagellar antigens

SECTION II - HEALTH HAZARD

PATHOGENICITY: Salmonellosis, an acute gastroenteritis with sudden onset of headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and sometimes vomiting; may develop septicemia commonly with metastatic focal infections in any tissue of body, intravascular lesions, osteomyelitis, and meningitis; Fatality rate 2-3 times that of typhoid; food borne disease; few cases clinically recognized and reported; uncommon in humans, but important pathogen of swine; may cause typhoid like enteric fever

EPIDEMIOLOGY: Worldwide, more extensively in North America and Europe; higher incidence rate for infants and young children; small outbreaks in general population

HOST RANGE: Humans, animals - swine, other livestock

INFECTIOUS DOSE: > 1,000 organisms - ingestion; higher (10⁶-10¹⁰) in animals

MODE OF TRANSMISSION: By ingestion of food contaminated directly from infected animals or indirectly by infected animal or person; from animal feeds and fertilizers prepared from contaminated meat scraps; fecal-oral transmission from person to person

INCUBATION PERIOD: Six to 72 hours, usually about 12-36 hours

COMMUNICABILITY: Communicable throughout course of infection; variable several days to several weeks; temporary carriers can continue for several months; antibiotic therapy can prolong period of communicability; 1% of infected adults and 5% of infected children excrete organism for over 1 year

SECTION III - DISSEMINATION

RESERVOIR: Humans - patients and carriers, swine and other livestock

ZOONOSIS: Yes - contact with infected animals (livestock workers)

VECTORS: None

SECTION IV - VIABILITY

DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY: Sensitive to ampicillin, amoxicillin, TMP-SMX, chloramphenicol, fluoroquinolones

SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISINFECTANTS: Susceptible to many disinfectants - 1% sodium hypochlorite, 70% ethanol, 2% glutaraldehyde, iodines, phenolics, formaldehyde

PHYSICAL INACTIVATION: Sensitive to moist heat (121° C for at least 15 min) and dry heat (160-170° C for at least 1 hour)

SURVIVAL OUTSIDE HOST: Pig meat - up to 450 days; sludge - 38 days; several months in feces, slurry

SECTION V - MEDICAL

SURVEILLANCE: Monitor for symptoms; bacteriological examination of feces, blood

FIRST AID/TREATMENT: For enterocolitis - rehydration therapy and electrolyte replacement; for enteric fever or septicemia - antibiotic therapy

IMMUNIZATION: None

PROPHYLAXIS: Not usually administered

SECTION VI - LABORATORY HAZARDS

LABORATORY-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS: at least 48 reported laboratory infections with Salmonella spp.

SOURCES/SPECIMENS: Feces, blood, urine; food, feed and environmental materials

PRIMARY HAZARDS: Ingestion, parenteral inoculation; importance of aerosol exposure not known

SPECIAL HAZARDS: Natural or experimentally infected animals are a potential source of infection for laboratory and animal care personnel and for other animals

SECTION VII - RECOMMENDED PRECAUTIONS

CONTAINMENT REQUIREMENTS: Biosafety level 2 practices, containment equipment and facilities for activities with clinical materials known or potentially infected and cultures; animal biosafety level 2 practices and facilities for activities with experimentally or naturally infected animals

PROTECTIVE CLOTHING: Laboratory coat; gloves when contact with infected materials is unavoidable

OTHER PRECAUTIONS: Good personal hygiene and frequent hand washing

SECTION VIII - HANDLING INFORMATION

SPILLS: Allow aerosols to settle; wearing protective clothing, gently cover spill with paper towels end apply 1% sodium hypochlorite, starting at perimeter and working towards the centre; allow sufficient contact time (30 min) before clean up

DISPOSAL: Decontaminate before disposal; steam sterilization, chemical disinfection

STORAGE: In sealed containers that are appropriately labelled

SECTION IX - MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

Date prepared: March, 2001

Prepared by: Office of Laboratory Security, PHAC

Although the information, opinions and recommendations contained in this Material Safety Data Sheet are compiled from sources believed to be reliable, we accept no responsibility for the accuracy, sufficiency, or reliability or for any loss or injury resulting from the use of the information. Newly discovered hazards are frequent and this information may not be completely up to date.

Copyright ©
Health Canada, 2001

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