Equipping People To Make Sense Of What They Are Told
Food Poisoning - A common occurrence, usually mild, but food poisoning can become
a potentially deadly illness. Symptoms can develop rapidly, within 30 minutes, or
slowly worsen over days to weeks.
Most of the common contaminants cause symptoms, such as:
Nausea.
Vomiting.
Abdominal cramping.
Diarrhoea.
Usually food poisoning is not serious, and the illness usually runs its course in
24-48 hours. However, depending on the contaminant serious symptoms can develop,
such as:
Fever.
Chills.
Bloody stools.
Dehydration.
Nervous system damage.
Symptoms may affect one person or a group of those who ate the same thing (called
an outbreak).
The known causes of food poisoning can be divided into two categories:
Infectious agents - include viruses, bacteria, and parasites.
Toxic agents - include poisonous mushrooms, pesticides on fruits and vegetables.
Food will becomes contaminated from bad habits or actions, such as:
Poor sanitation - Food handlers who do not wash their hands after using the bathroom
or have infections themselves
Poor preparation.
Improperly packaged food stored at the wrong temperature.
Viruses -account for most food poisoning cases where a specific contaminant is found.
Noroviruses - A group of viruses that cause a mild illness (often termed "stomach
flu") with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, headache, and low-grade fever.
These symptoms usually resolve in two to three days. It is the most common viral
cause of adult food poisoning and is transmitted from water, shellfish, and vegetables
contaminated by faeces, as well as from person to person.
Rotavirus - Causes moderate to severe illness with vomiting followed by watery diarrhoea
and fever. It is the most common cause of food poisoning in infants and children
and is transmitted from person to person by faecal contamination of food and shared
play areas.
Hepatitis A - Causes mild illness with sudden onset of fever, loss of appetite, and
feeling of tiredness followed by jaundice, which is a yellowing of the eyes and skin.
It is transmitted from person to person by faecal contamination of food.
Bacteria can cause food poisoning in two different ways. Some bacteria infect the
intestines, causing inflammation and difficulty absorbing nutrients and water, leading
to diarrhoea. Other bacteria produce chemicals in foods (known as toxins) that are
poisonous to the human digestive system. When eaten, these chemicals can lead to
nausea and vomiting, kidney failure, and even death.
Salmonellae a bacteria that may cause food poisoning. Salmonellae cause a moderate
illness with nausea, vomiting, painful diarrhoea, and headache. Those with impaired
immune systems salmonellae can cause a life-threatening illness. The illness is transmitted
by undercooked foods such as eggs, poultry, dairy products, and seafood.
Campylobacter -Causes mild illness with fever, watery diarrhoea, headache, and muscle
aches. Campylobacter is the most commonly identified food-borne bacterial infection
encountered in the world. It is transmitted by raw poultry, raw milk, and water contaminated
by animal faeces.
Staphylococcus Aureus - Causes moderate to severe illness with rapid onset of nausea,
severe vomiting, dizziness, and abdominal cramping. These bacteria produce a toxin
in foods such as cream-filled cakes and pies, salads and dairy products.
Bacillus Cereus - Causes mild illness with rapid onset of vomiting, with or without
diarrhoea and abdominal cramping. It is associated with rice (mainly fried rice)
and other starchy foods such as pasta or potatoes.
Escherichia coli (E coli) - Causes moderate to severe illness that begins as large
amounts of watery diarrhoea, which then turns into bloody diarrhoea. There are many
different types of this bacteria. The worst strain can cause kidney failure and death.
Shigella (traveler’s diarrhoea) - Causes moderate to severe illness with fever, diarrhoea
containing blood or mucus or both, and the constant urge to have bowel movements.
It is transmitted in water polluted with human wastes.
Clostridium botulinum (botulism) - Causes severe illness affecting the nervous system.
Symptoms start as blurred vision. The person then develops problems talking and overall
weakness. Symptoms then progress to breathing difficulty and the inability to move
arms or legs. Infants and young children are particularly at risk.
Vibrio cholerae - Causes mild to moderate illness with cramping diarrhoea, headache,
nausea, vomiting, and fever with chills. transmitted by infected, undercooked, or
raw seafood.
Parasites rarely cause food poisoning. When they do, they are usually swallowed in
contaminated or untreated water and cause long-lasting but mild symptoms.
Giardia (beaver fever) - Causes mild illness with watery diarrhoea often lasting
one to two weeks. Transmitted by drinking contaminated water.The infection can also
be spread from person to person by food or other items contaminated with faeces from
an infected person.
Cryptosporidium - Causes moderate illness with large amounts of watery diarrhoea
lasting two to four days. May become a long-lasting problem in those with poor immune
systems. It is transmitted by contaminated drinking water.
Toxic agents
The least common cause of food poisoning. Illness is often an isolated episode caused
by poor food preparation or selection (such as picking wild mushrooms).
Mushroom Toxins - Illness can range from mild to deadly depending on the type of
mushroom eaten. Often there is nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Some types of mushrooms
produce a nerve toxin, which causes sweating, shaking, hallucinations, and coma.
Ciguatera Poisoning - Caused by eating fish that contains toxins produced by a marine
algae called Gambierdiscus toxicus. It can cause moderate to severe illness with
numbness of the area around the mouth and lips that can spread to the arms and legs,
nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and weakness, headache, dizziness, and rapid heartbeat.
The toxin may cause sensory problems in which hot things feel cold and cold things
feel hot. It is transmitted by eating certain large game fish from tropical waters-most
specifically barracuda, grouper, snapper, and jacks. Symptoms may disappear in days
or weeks, but may persist for years.
Scombroid -Causes mild to moderate illness with facial flushing, burning around
the mouth and lips, peppery-taste sensations, a red rash on the upper body, dizziness,
headache, and itchy skin. Severe symptoms may include blurry vision, respiratory
distress, and swelling of the tongue and mouth. Symptoms typically last from four
to six hours, and rarely more than one or two days. It is transmitted in seafood,
can also be in Swiss cheese.
Pesticides - Cause mild to severe illness with weakness, blurred vision, headache,
cramps, diarrhoea, increased production of saliva, and shaking of the arms and legs.
Toxins are transmitted by eating unwashed fruits or vegetables contaminated with
pesticides.
