Salmonella! Help!

[Koala bear mummy]

Hi mummies, help pls!..

My three months old baby boy got the above despite all our carefulness and hygiene. We suspect it came from my old dogs who have diarrhoea/viomit on-off --> maid --> baby.

He had very serious diarrhoea (at worst every hour once) and although now on antibiotics and better, suddenly cannot tolerate soy milk despite being visibly hungry..

Any experience to share? HEARTACHE see him cry and cannot drink...((

 

[Phoebii Cheng]

Did you see PD? what did PD says?

If you have not bring him to see PD, better bring him soon....meanwhile keep him hydrated as vomit & diarrhea will cause a lose of water....i am not sure if 3mths can give him gripe water or not or glucoline to at least keep him hydrated...but try if you can to spoon feed him a bit of water.

Btw, you say he is on soy milk, how abt trying other brands of FM? NAN is the closest to BM, mayb you want to try a small can?

 

[stonston]

Did the doc do a culture test to confirm it's salmonella?

The causes of salmonella IS NOT YOUR DOGS. Please do not put the blame on them and cause others to have the impression that they should give up their dogs for their babies' sakes. If your dogs are vomitiing and have diarrheao, you should bring them to the vet and check their food also.

Salmonella is commonly found in meat and dairy products. It is usually found in raw eggs also.

It could be that your maid did not clean her hands properly after food prep or did not clean the kitchen properly. Wet kitchen counters, poor storage of food in the fridge, dirty sinks/sponges are common causes.

It could also be the toys (babies like to put toys in their mouth). Or something that dropped on the floor.

This is what my maid does to prevent such incidents:
1. Always wash hands with soap (anti bacterial soap) AND WIPE DRY THOROUGHLY with hand towel (hung beside the sink).
2. All cloth is boiled in hot water and washed daily. If you do not want to have a seperate pot to boil your cloth, you can actually wash and wet the cloth, put them in the microwave on High for 3 minutes. The steam also helps to clean the microwave.
3. Sink should always be scrubbed clean before & after food prep. Seperate brush to scrub the kitchen sink should be used.
4. Seperate chopping boards. Get different coloured ones. 1 for raw foods (meat, fish), 1 for vegetables (raw), 1 for cooked food, fruits and vegetables to be eaten raw, and 1 for baby's items only (when you start weaning).
5. Always keep the kitchen counter top DRY. If it's wet due to food prep, it should be wiped dry, then spray diluted vinegar to sanitise the counter top. In the food industry, they use diluted bleach (1 bottle of water to 2 drops of bleach) but I won't recommend that for home use. Use 1 bottle of water to 2 tbsp of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar if you want.) You can also use this to spray onto all the cupboard doors and interiors of the cabinets before wiping dry.
6. Have a seperate container to keep baby's bottles, bottle brush, teats, etc for drying. Don't use the same drying rack as other dishes. I did this till my boy was 1yo. The container is washed and sterilised with hot water daily.
7. Vaccum the floor daily. In fact, she mops the floor daily too (which I don't expect). For the tiled area, she also uses diluted vinegar solution to mop the floor.
8. Wash, sun and steam sterilise all toys. I remember when my boy was around 3 months, none of his toys had electrical components so we always washed his toys. Big bucket of hot soapy water (use his body wash) and soak everything, wipe with wet cloth, then sun everything to dry. We did this on monthly basis or when we buy new toys (sometimes pple give 2nd hand toys too). Now that he's older, most of his toys can be washed this way. So we use a steamer to steam sterilise his toys instead. Reason being my friend's 1yo girl comes over very often to play and we do not want my boy's toys to harbour any germs too.


There are alot of hygiene measures around the house to take note of and many ppl do not bother, resulting in food poisoning or kids getting sick cos they like to put things in their mouth.

You need to work out a schedule for your maid and state your hygiene expectations clearly. My maid previously worked for large Indian family in Msia (rich family) and their expectations are very high, so she's very well trained and knows what to do. I also spend alot of time showing her how I want things to be cleaned and she does follow it strictly.

 

[Koala bear mummy]

Stonston,

I love my dogs dearly and have been keeping both of them for >10 years. Like you, I had completely ruled out the possibility that it could possibly be them, after some initial research.

But my baby fell ill and yes, stool culture has confirmed Salmonella. Refer to the below medical report I came across online on a medical website.

A 4-month-old male infant manifested diarrhea and Salmonella Virchow was isolated from his stool. The pathogen was repeatedly isolated from the infant over one month despite three regimens of treatment with antibiotics, to which the isolate was sensitive. Three household dogs were kept in his home and S. Virchow was isolated from two of them. The infant was admitted to hospital and was treated with antibiotic, then the pathogen was finally eliminated. Antibiotic sensitivity pattern and PFGE pattern produced by restriction enzyme Xba I of the isolate from the infant was completely similar to those of the isolates from the dogs. The above findings indicated that the present S. Virchow infection in the infant was transmitted by the household dogs.

Objectively speaking, your suggestions on keeping the household clean are rather robust which is the minimum standard I had imposed on my domestic helper. Looks like I need more effective ideas!

 

[stonston]

Then you need to find out the cause of your dog having salmonella!
It could be it's food source.

Sorry it I sounded hostile cos I'm a dog lover and your first post is very unclear, which may cause newer dog owners to think that having a dog is harmful and abandon their dogs. Very common scenario which is not fair to the dogs at all. I've seen many who end up being put to sleep
in another motherhood forum, there are many who post up abt how they read abt such incidents in forum & decided to abandon their dogs.

Since you practise such high standard of hygiene at home, then it shouldn't have happened.

Are you home everyday at the moment? Check on how your maid clears the dog's waste. The problem might be in the process. My maid actually wears disposable gloves when handling my dog's waste. Gloves are thrown away directly into the main rubbish chute when she throws the newspaper/toilet paper wrapped up in plastic bag.

 

[Koala bear mummy]

I understand, it is very sad for those doggies abandoned by their owners. I have temporaily placed mine with my mother who has grown to love both of them over these years.

I am also quite pissed with the pet food manufacturers. Was reading and also suspecting the organic fish / sweet potato food I spend hundred dollars every one and half month for them. Just possibly they got salmonella from contaminated foodsource.

Back to my baby. Already told my maid to bathe twice everyday and wash and sanitise (we bought those red hospital ones and place them at the kitchen and near changing table) herself each time she comes near my baby. Since the incident two weeks ago, my husband has also bought disposable gloves for her while she goes about her work. She is very good with my baby though and he clearly enjoys her soft singing and playing with him...sighzzzzz

 

[LoVeS]

Has u bring ur bb to see doc?? I tink ur bb need antibotics to get rid of the salmonella n i knw it is so tiring to take care of ur bb wif such condition bcoz my son aso gotten it b4 n was hospitalized ~