An 8 Minute DNA Test For Salmonella

Australian researchers have created a sensitive, super-fast test for five different serotypes of Salmonella which could dramatically reduce incidences of food poisoning in public health settings. As reported in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, the scientists observed that their newly-developed assay was extremely sensitive, capable of detecting trace amounts of bacterial DNA in as little as eight minutes.

The research team believes that this new test is a significant step up from labour-intensive, expensive and time-consuming conventional bacterial culture methods — drastically simplifying food safety testing and the tracking of Salmonella-induced outbreaks in the community.

Salmonellosis, a disease caused by Salmonella infection, typically causes symptoms between 12 and 36 hours after consuming contaminated food. Diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, and vomiting often follow as bacteria quickly multiplies in the small intestine, triggering a massive inflammatory response. In the United States, over 1.3 million cases of Salmonellosis are reported annually, leading to over 26,000 hospitalizations and 420 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Poor kitchen hygiene and contamination of food such as raw or undercooked meat, eggs and poultry are the most common causes of Salmonella outbreaks.