Salmonella – it can be a good thing

Salmonella’s bad, right?

As a food borne illness, it can cause people to become severely ill with diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, though, have found that swallowing salmonella bacteria can be used to treat mice with a type of viral infection

Researchers discovered a way to use the bacterium to stop the gene activity of a virus that causes cold sores, mononucleosis and chickenpox.

These types of viral infections are generally mild among healthy individuals, but they can become deadly for people whose immune systems are compromised and are a leading viral cause of mental retardation in newborns, the researches note.

More info: U Cal Berkeley