Foodbourne Illnesses

Also Known as Food Poisoning

Food poisoning or foodbourne illnesses are caused by drinking water or eating food that is contaminated with parasites, viruses or bacteria. Toxins from these organisms can be all that is left in the food or water. Most are due to common viruses, such as E. coli or Staphylococcus aureus.

Food poisoning can affect a single individual but often affects a group of people who have all eaten or drank the same thing. It is common after eating in school cafeterias, picnics or large social functions. Sometimes it can occur in restaurants in one particular dish they are serving.

The most common foods affected are meat or poultry but things like mayonnaise and raw eggs can contribute to foodbourne illnesses. Water used in growing or shipping vegetables can be contaminated with feces from humans or animals and can cause food poisoning. If people contaminated with a parasite, virus or bacteria do not wash their hands when handling food, the problem can cause foodbourne illness.

Food poisoning can occur in the following conditions: individuals who are contaminated and do not wash their hands; utensil or cutting boards that are contaminated; dairy products that have been allowed to sit out too long; raw fish or raw oysters; frozen or refrigerated foods that are not reheated right; raw vegetables or dairy that is not pasteurized; raw fruits that have not been washed well; undercooked eggs or meat; or untreated water.

The various organisms that can cause the disorder include botulism, cholera, campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, fish poisoning, staph aureus, viruses, Shigella, salmonella, and Yersinia. Those at the greatest risk of getting foodbourne illnesses are the elderly and young infants. You are at higher risk if you have a poor immune syndrome or travel outside of the US, where bacteria in food are more prevalent.

Symptoms of food poisoning can begin as early as 2-6 hours after exposure but can take a couple of days, depending on what is causing the food poisoning. The main symptoms include diarrhea, crampy abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, and weakness.

Doctors can identify food poisoning by the symptoms along with tests of the leftover food, blood and stool. Cultures of the blood and stool can be done but even the most sensitive tests may not show the presence of the organism or the toxin. This means that the history and physical examination may be all that you can go on. Sigmoidoscopy can show damage to the colon and tests of the muscles can identify botulism. A lumbar puncture may be done to see if there is a nervous system component of the foodbourne illness.

You will recover regardless of treatment within a few days in most cases. The treatment, therefore, is symptomatic and involves drinking plenty of fluid and using an electrolyte replacement solution for children especially. IV fluids can be used if you are unable to keep anything down orally. You need to stop any diuretics you may be taking to keep the fluid in your body. Antidiarrheals are not usually recommended as they can keep the bacteria and toxins in the body. Antibiotics are also not used in the vast majority of cases. If you have eaten toxins from mushrooms or shellfish, you may need emergency treatment with stomach pumping to remove the toxin.

Most people recover from the illness within 12-48 hours but there can be serious complications in some cases.

Complications include dehydration, which can be caused by any of the food poisoning types. You can get arthritis in Yersinia and Salmonella; you can get bleeding disorders In E. coli; you can die from botulism, fish poisoning or mushroom toxin poisoning; you can get kidney failure, pericarditis, nervous system problems, and severe respiratory compromise, particularly in botulism.