|
|
Epidemiology Corner April 12, 2002 Gastrointestinal Illnesses The Bureaus of Epidemiology and Consumer Health (food inspection) routinely receive calls regarding gastrointestinal illness, such as nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea following a meal. Contaminated foods or beverages can cause foodborne disease. When Epidemiology and/or Consumer Health receive complaints, a report is filled out and the place where the food was obtained is inspected for food safety violations. The most common foodborne diseases are infections caused by bacteria, such as Salmonella and Campylobacter, or by the Norwalk family of viruses. A foodborne disease outbreak is defined as a group of people developing the same illnesses after ingesting the same food. Most cases of foodborne disease are single cases not associated with a recognized outbreak. The great majority of food items which cause foodborne diseases are raw or undercooked foods of animal origin such as meat, milk, eggs, cheese, fish or shellfish. Every year in the United States foodborne
infections cause millions of illnesses and thousands of deaths. New
infections not previously known to be foodborne diseases are emerging. To prevent contracting foodborne diseases, the consumer can do the following: 1) Make sure that food from animal sources (meat, diary, eggs) is thoroughly cooked or pasteurized. Avoid eating such foods raw or undercooked. 2) Be careful to keep juices or drippings from raw meat, poultry, shellfish or eggs, from contaminating other foods. 3) Do not leave potentially contaminated food items for extended periods of time at temperatures that permit bacteria to grow. Promptly refrigerate leftovers and food prepared in advance. Thorough cooking is the single most important step in preventing foodborne illness. Preventing spread of contamination from raw foods in the kitchen is also important. Washing one’s hands, cutting board and knife with soap and water immediately after handling raw meat, raw poultry, raw seafood or raw eggs will help keep the food handler from contaminating any other foods in the kitchen. Special care is needed in the preparation of food for infants, the elderly, and persons whose immune systems are compromised by underlying illness or medical treatment of illness. The next several issues of Epidemiology Corner will discuss the various causes of foodborne illness. |
