Climate change will increase the risk of the foodborne illness from Salmonella enterica, according to a new study. The research was published today in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
S. enterica causes disease in 1.2 million people in the U.S. every year. In recent years, the most common route of infection has been the consumption of contaminated fresh produce. Salmonella survives on multiple agricultural crops and persists in the soil for extended periods of time. On plants, researchers have found that Salmonella exploits changes to the plant environment imparted by other organisms. Plants infected with bacterial phytopathogens (organisms that cause disease in plants) result in increased persistence for this human enteric pathogen. READ FULL ARTICLE