For most people, a Salmonella infection causes gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and intestines that can mean several miserable days of diarrhoea, cramps, fever or vomiting. Most people recover within a week. But severe diarrhoea and dehydration can still be dangerous, even while the bacteria remain confined to the gut.
In a small minority of patients, however, Salmonella crosses the gut lining and enters the blood. In the current UK outbreak, seemingly caused by eggs imported from abroad, two people have developed bloodstream infections and one death has been associated with the outbreak. How does a familiar cause of food poisoning escape the gut, and why does this only happen to some people?
