food poisoning

FOOD POISONING

What is food poisoning??

Food borne diseases (FBD) are acute illnesses associated with the recent consumption of food
There are two types of food poisoning: food infection and food intoxication.

Food borne infections

Food borne infections are caused by the entrance of pathogenic microorganisms contaminating food into the body, and the reaction of the body tissues to their presence.
These can either be fungal, bacterial, viral or parasitic
Food borne infections tend to have long incubation periods and are usually characterized by fever


Food borne intoxications……
Food borne intoxications have short incubation periods (minutes to hours) and are characterized by lack of fever.
Food borne intoxications can be classified into:
• Bacterial intoxications
• Fungal intoxications
• Chemical intoxication
• Plant toxicants, and
• Poisonous animals.

Causes

improper handling, preparation, or food storage.

large variety of toxins that affect the environment

chemicals

pesticides or medicines in food and naturally toxic substances like poisonous mushrooms.

Food that has been exposed to environment with temperature 30 degree Celcius

1) The main Bacterium

Campylobacter bacteria
Found in raw chicken and
meat and also in
unpasteurised milk
Vomitting, diarrhea, fever,
blood in stool
Symptoms appear after 2-5 days after consumption of the food

2) Other bacteria

• Escherichia coli
• bacillus cereus
• vibro cholera
• Yersinia enterocolitica
• Listeria monocytogenes
• Shigella sp
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Salmonella

Symptoms

Nausea
Abdominal pain
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Gastroenteritis
Fever
Headache
Fatigue

Treatment

The main treatment for food poisoning is putting fluids back in the body (rehydration) through an IV and by drinking.
Do not eat solid food while
nauseous or vomiting but
drink plenty of fluids.
Anti-vomiting and diarrhea
medications

Prevention

Proper handling, preparation
and food storage
Practice good hygiene like washing hands before eating and preparing food or properly wash the knife or cooking utensils before and after using them
Do not expose the food-cover them properly
Eat well-cooked food (salmonella can be killed in high temperature)