Food Poisoning - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

In most cases of foodborne illness (food poisoning), symptoms resemble intestinal flu and last a few hours to several days. But in cases of botulism, or when food poisoning strikes infants, the ill, the elderly, or those with compromised immune systems, life-threatening complications can result.

Microscopic organisms that cause foodborne illness are everywhere-in the air, soil, water, and in human and animal digestive tracts. Most are capable of growing undetected in food because they do not produce an "off" odor, color, or texture. The only way these microbes can be prevented from causing human illness is by handling and storing food safely.

Background

Food poisoning is defined as an illness caused by the consumption of food or water contaminated with bacteria and/or their toxins, parasites, viruses, or chemicals. The symptoms, varying in degree and combination, include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and headache; more serious cases can result in life-threatening neurologic, hepatic, and renal syndromes leading to permanent disability or death.

Most of the illnesses are mild and improve without any specific treatment. Some patients have severe disease and require hospitalization, aggressive hydration, and antibiotic treatment.

A food-borne disease outbreak is defined by the following 2 criteria:

1. Similar illness, often gastrointestinal, in a minimum of 2 people
2. Evidence of food as the source

What causes it?

Micro-organisms enter the body in one of two ways:

1. In the food - the food isn't cooked thoroughly, so the micro-organisms aren't killed off, often the case with barbecued food.
2. On the food - the person preparing the food doesn't wash their hands before handling the food, for example.

Campylobacter infection is the most common cause of food poisoning seen by GPs. It likes to live in milk and poultry.

Other common causes include salmonella, listeria, shigella and clostridia. Some take a few hours to cause symptoms, others a few days. Serious infections with E.coli are, fortunately, uncommon.
Symptoms

Food poisoning symptoms vary with the source of contamination. Most types of food poisoning cause one or more of the following signs and symptoms:

· Nausea
· Vomiting
· Watery diarrhea
· Abdominal pain
· Stomach cramps
· Loss of appetite
· Fatigue
· Fever

Signs and symptoms may start within hours after eating the contaminated food, or they may begin days later. Sickness caused by food poisoning generally lasts from one to 10 days.

Salmonella

According to a 2001 report from the CDC, Salmonella caused almost 50,000 culture-confirmed cases of food poisoning in the United States annually. However, between two and four million probably occur each year. Salmonella is found in egg yolks from infected chickens, in raw and undercooked poultry and in other meats, dairy products, fish, shrimp, and many more foods. The CDC estimates that one out of every 50 consumers is exposed to a contaminated egg yolk each year. However, thorough cooking kills the bacteria and makes the food harmless. Salmonella is also found in the feces of pet reptiles such as turtles, lizards, and snakes.

How do harmful germs get into food?

Germs can get into food when:

· Meat is processed. It is normal to find bacteria in the intestines of healthy animals that we use for food. Sometimes the bacteria get mixed up with the parts of those animals that we eat.

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