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  • Yersinia Enterocolitica, Is Common in Undercooked Pork. (Chit'lins, Anyone?) Hepatitis

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    Edward McSweegan, PhD
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    The document discusses the prevalence of foodborne illnesses in the United States, noting that there are estimated to be 76 million cases, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year from food poisoning. It outlines several of the main bacteria and viruses that can contaminate foods like chicken, beef, produce and cause illnesses. Some of the potential long term complications of these illnesses are also described, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome from E. coli O157:H7 infection, Guillain-Barré syndrome from Campylobacter, and arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease from bacterial infections. While foodborne illnesses are common, following basic food safety practices like thoroughly cooking meat and fish, refrigerating foods properly

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    Foodborne Infections

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    The document discusses the prevalence of foodborne illnesses in the United States, noting that there are estimated to be 76 million cases, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year from food poisoning. It outlines several of the main bacteria and viruses that can contaminate foods like chicken, beef, produce and cause illnesses. Some of the potential long term complications of these illnesses are also described, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome from E. coli O157:H7 infection, Guillain-Barré syndrome from Campylobacter, and arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease from bacterial infections. While foodborne illnesses are common, following basic food safety practices like thoroughly cooking meat and fish, refrigerating foods properly

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    92 views4 pages

    Yersinia Enterocolitica, Is Common in Undercooked Pork. (Chit'lins, Anyone?) Hepatitis

    Uploaded by

    Edward McSweegan, PhD
    The document discusses the prevalence of foodborne illnesses in the United States, noting that there are estimated to be 76 million cases, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year from food poisoning. It outlines several of the main bacteria and viruses that can contaminate foods like chicken, beef, produce and cause illnesses. Some of the potential long term complications of these illnesses are also described, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome from E. coli O157:H7 infection, Guillain-Barré syndrome from Campylobacter, and arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease from bacterial infections. While foodborne illnesses are common, following basic food safety practices like thoroughly cooking meat and fish, refrigerating foods properly

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    of 4

    Microbes on the Menu 02/24/2004

    If the old saying, "you are what you eat," is true, then some of us might become

    patients, cripples or corpses.

    Throughout much of history, finding food was an uncertain proposition. So was

    eating what you found. And it still is. In the U.S. each year, there are an estimated 76

    million cases of foodborne illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths. All from

    eating the safest, healthiest food in the world.

    Probably everyone has experienced an episode of “food poisoning," "intestinal

    flu" or “stomach virus.” Foodborne illnesses are so common they almost seem to be an

    expected--and accepted--part of life. But there is a huge financial and public health price

    to pay for these common illnesses.

    There are more than 200 known illnesses acquired from foods and the culprits

    include bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins, metals, chemicals and prions—the mysterious

    agents of "Mad Cow Disease." The main infectious agents responsible for so many cases

    of food poisoning are bacteria and viruses.

    For example, we get Salmonella bacteria from eating raw eggs and undercooked

    poultry. Two other bacteria, Campylobacter jejuni and E. coli can contaminate chicken

    and hamburger, respectively. Listeria monocytogenes is a tricky little bug that can grow

    at refrigerator temperatures to contaminate soft cheeses, deli meats and unpasteurized

    milk. Staphylococcus gets into potato and egg salads, and a cousin of bubonic plague,

    Yersinia enterocolitica, is common in undercooked pork. (Chit'lins, anyone?) Hepatitis

    A virus and Vibrio bacteria find their way into raw shellfish, and two

    1
    parasites, Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora, can lurk in fresh produce.

    Foodborne outbreaks frequently make the news, partly because they often involve

    large numbers of people.

    For example, in January, 100 students at UNC-Chapel Hill were stricken with

    vomiting and diarrhea after eating from a salad bar contaminated with Norovirus. Last

    November, more than 600 people contracted hepatitis A from a Mexican restaurant in a

    Pennsylvania mall. (The hepatitis virus was probably from imported green onions.) In

    February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued warnings in New England about

    salmonella-contaminated ground beef. (Among the 37 cases, a few people reported

    eating the meat raw.) Also in January, 69 Philadelphia hotel guests were stricken by

    something one of them described as “a stomach virus, like a 24-hour bug.” Last October,

    Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene investigated a possible cluster of

    Listeria infections in four counties, including Anne Arundel.

    Sometimes the illnesses, and the news, are much worse.

    E. coli O157, a contaminant of beef, causes about 60 deaths per year in the U.S.

    and is the principal cause of acute kidney failure in children. A small percentage of

    people develop a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome and some of them will

    have life-long complications, including seizures, blindness, and paralysis.

    The poultry contaminant, Campylobacter jejuni, can cause Guillain-Barré

    Syndrome, a type of flaccid paralysis. Affected individuals develop weakness in their

    limbs and respiratory muscles. Recovery can take weeks or months.

    Listeria, found in soft cheeses and prepared foods, causes about 500 deaths a year.

    Pregnant women are especially at risk. Listeria infections can cause

    2
    stillbirths, miscarriages, meningitis and sepsis.

    New research suggests Listeria can colonize the gall bladder to become a silent

    source of infection and contamination. Like the 19th century’s Typhoid Mary who spread

    typhoid bacteria to her employers, a “Listeria Larry” may emerge in the 21st century to

    cause similar havoc.

    Oddly enough, arthritis can be another complication following a bout of food

    poisoning. Bacteria can spread from the gut into the joints to cause permanent damage.

    Still other bacteria have been linked to chronic inflammatory conditions called Crohn’s

    disease or ulcerative colitis.

    These complications also can have a profound effect on our mental well-being.

    Writing in the journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Florida researcher

    James Lindsay noted that “continual pain from arthritis, an irritable bowel, or chronic

    diarrhea would be enough to make anyone temperamental, moody, or depressed.”

    Lindsay also writes, “Foodborne diseases are for the most part preventable.”

    True enough, but from farm to kitchen there is a long chain of players who have to do

    their part. They include growers and producers, shippers, government inspectors, sellers

    and finally, us, the consumers.

    What can we do? First, cook meats and fish thoroughly. Second, make sure your

    refrigerator temperature is low enough (40 degrees) to discourage bacterial growth.

    Third, eat prepared foods before their expiration dates. Fourth, don’t feed your pets raw

    chicken or beef; they might give something back to you.

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    Finally, check the Annapolis Food Safety Education Campaign’s web site

    (www.fightbac.org) for information on the four basic food handling techniques: Clean,

    Separate, Cook and Chill. Bon Apetite!

    Words: 768

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