Salmonellas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of bacteria, typically associated with foodborne illness, that can cause infections when ingested through contaminated food or water
2. Various species of bacteria from the genus Salmonella that can lead to gastrointestinal infections and fever in humans
3. A collection of pathogenic microorganisms that are often linked to outbreaks of salmonellosis, frequently resulting from improper food handling or preparation

Etymology: "Salmonellas" is simply the plural of "salmonella," so its history is that of the genus name. The genus was named Salmonella in honour of Daniel Elmer Salmon, an American veterinarian who worked for the United States Department of Agriculture in the late nineteenth century. Salmon and his colleague Theobald Smith were involved in the research that led to the discovery of the bacterium, and in 1900 the genus was named after Salmon by the bacteriologist Lignières. The name is therefore a patronymic coinage: a scientific Latin form built from Salmon's surname, the way many microbe and animal genera are honoured after researchers. Nothing in it refers to the salmon fish, a common assumption that is simply a coincidence of spelling.