Salmonella spp.- Transmission, Pathogenesis, Host-pathogen interaction, Prevention and Treatment

Salmonella infection, also known as Salmonellosis, is a common zoonotic food-borne infection in humans, poultry and mammals. The disease is commonly spread in humans through contaminated foods and the infection can develop into gastroenteritis, enteric fever, bacteraemia or focal disease. The genus Salmonella contains only two species, Salmonella enterica and Salmonella bongoriwhich further subdivides into a number of serotypes resulting in either typhoid Salmonella and non-typhoid Salmonella (NTS) infections. The serotypes of S. enterica such as Salmonella typhi and paratyphi are responsible for the typhoidal infections leading to enteric fever and other serotypes such as Salmonella typhimurium and enteridis are responsible for non-typhoidal infections leading to gastroenteritis and focal disease. Salmonella infections are one of the leading foods borne infections across the world resulting in socio-economic and hospital burden.

There are continuous and ongoing efforts in understanding the structural features and mode of action of these pathogens vital in driving scientific discovery towards prevention and treatment strategies against these infections. Through this research topic, we aim to explore the scientific gaps associated with our understanding of Salmonella spp. and its importance to design better drug and treatment modalities.

The current Research Topic aims to highlight the latest scientific findings on these pathogens in the following areas:

1. Mode of transmission between the hosts.
2. Pathogenesis and resistance mechanisms developed by the species.
3. Host-pathogen interaction and immune evasion mechanisms.
4. Prevention strategies to stem the infection.
5. Novel treatment strategies against the infection.