Salmonellae in the Environment

Diarrhea due to Salmonella infections has been recognised since the late 19th century. Typhoid diseases were, in the early part of the 20th century, the commonest known waterborne diseases in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America (Hunter, 1997; Pui et al., 2011). In addition non-typhoid salmonellae have been recognised as a leading cause of bacterial enteritis in the UK and worldwide (Timbury et al., 2002; Pui et al., 2011). Salmonella infections in animals are common and have been well documented in the UK since 1958, with around 10,000 recorded incidences of bovine salmonellosis per year (Linton & Hinton, 1988).