ENGLISH
REFERENCE

salmonella

n. uncountable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˌsæɫməˈnɛɫə// UK //sˌælməʊnˈɛlɐ// sal·mo·nel·la

n. a type of bacteria that can make you very sick if you eat food that is not clean or cooked well. It usually causes stomach pain, fever, and other digestive problems.

n. a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacteria that causes various infections, most commonly food poisoning. It typically enters the human body through contaminated water or undercooked poultry and eggs.


SIMPLE

Cooking chicken thoroughly kills any salmonella bacteria.

CONTEXTUAL

The restaurant was closed temporarily after several customers fell ill with salmonella poisoning from the salad bar.

COMPLEX

Public health officials tracked the salmonella outbreak to a single processing plant where cross-contamination had occurred between raw and ready-to-eat products.

Usage

Usually treated as uncountable when referring to the bacteria or the illness; can be countable in scientific contexts referring to specific strains.

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