(CNN) -- For most people, salmonella can be nasty for a few days
or maybe a week, but then it's gone. Specific treatment isn't
needed to recover. Common symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting,
and bacteria in the lining of the intestines can damage cells,
causing bloody diarrhea. "That's where your immune system stops
it," said Craig Altier of Cornell University's College of
Veterinary Medicine. But in rare cases, the bacterial infection
can be deadly. About 400 people in the United States die every
year from salmonella, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. The current nationwide recall of eggs
because of possible salmonella hits close to home for Barbara
Pruitt, who nearly lost her life when her case of salmonella got
out of control last year. Pruitt, 42, of Lakeview, Oregon, has
never fully recovered from the damage the infection did to her
system. "I walk, talk and breathe medical issues all the time,"
she said. It all started one day in early August 2009. She felt
as if she had the flu