Foodborne Intoxications

 

Bacillus Cereus

Found
Widely distributed in nature; can be isolated from meats, milk, vegetables, and fish.

Transmission
Bacteria produce a toxin that causes illness. Vomiting-type outbreaks have usually been associated with rice products and other starchy foods such as potatoes, pasta, and cheese products. Sauces, puddings, soups, casseroles, pastries, and salads have also been implicated in outbreaks.

Symptoms
Food poisoning is characterized by nausea and vomiting 0.5 to six hours after the ingestion of a contaminated food product. In more severe cases, abdominal cramps and diarrhea might occur with symptoms lasting up to 24 hours.

 

Clostridium botulinum

Found
Widely distributed in nature; soil and water on plants and intestinal tracts of animals and fish. Grows only in little or no oxygen.

Transmission
Bacteria produce a toxin that causes illness. Improperly canned foods, garlic in oil, vacuum-packed and tightly wrapped food.

Symptoms
Toxins affect the nervous system. Symptoms usually appear in 18 to 36 hours, but can sometimes appear as few as four hours or as many as eight days after eating. Double vision, droopy eyelids, trouble speaking and swallowing, and difficulty breathing may occur. Can be fatal in three to 10 days if not treated.

 

Campylobacter jejuni

Found
Widely distributed in nature; can be isolated from meats, milk, vegetables, and fish.

Transmission
Bacteria produce a toxin that causes illness. Vomiting-type outbreaks have usually been associated with rice products and other starchy foods such as potatoes, pasta, and cheese products. Sauces, puddings, soups, casseroles, pastries, and salads have also been implicated in outbreaks.

Symptoms
Food poisoning is characterized by nausea and vomiting 0.5 to six hours after the ingestion of a contaminated food product. In more severe cases, abdominal cramps and diarrhea might occur with symptoms lasting up to 24 hours.

 

Campylobacter jejuni

Found
Intestinal tracts of animals, birds, raw milk, untreated water, and sewage sludge.

Transmission
Contaminated water, raw milk, and raw or undercooked meat, poultry, or shellfish.

Symptoms
Fever, headache, and muscle pain followed by diarrhea (sometimes bloody), abdominal pain, and nausea that appear two to five days after eating; may last seven to 10 days.

 

Clostridium perfringens

Found
Soil, dust, sewage, and intestinal tracts of animals and humans. Grows only in little or no oxygen.

Transmission
Called "the cafeteria germ" because many outbreaks result from food left for long periods in steam tables or at room temperature. Bacteria destroyed by cooking, but some toxin-producing spores may survive.

Symptoms
Diarrhea and gas pains may appear eight to 24 hours after eating; usually last about 1 day, but less severe symptoms may persist for one to two weeks.

 

Staphylococcus aureus

Found
On the skin, infected cuts, pimples, noses, and throats.

Transmission
From people to food through improper food handling. Multiply rapidly at room temperature to produce a toxin that causes illness.

Symptoms
Severe nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea can occur one to six hours after eating; recovery within two to three days—longer if severe dehydration occurs.

 

 

Foodborne Infections

 

Escherichia coli 0157:H7

Found
Intestinal tracts of some mammals, raw milk, unchlorinated water; one of several strains of E. coli that can cause human illness.

Transmission
Contaminated water, raw milk, raw or rare ground beef, unpasteurized apple juice or cider, uncooked fruits and vegetables, person-to-person.

Symptoms
Diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, and malaise; can begin two to five days after food is eaten, lasting about eight days. Some, especially the very young, have developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) that causes acute kidney failure. A similar illness, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), may occur in older adults.

 

Hepatitis A virus

Found
Hepatitis A is widely distributed throughout the world, occurring in both epidemic and sporadic cases. Hepatitis A is primarily transmitted person to person by the fecal-oral route, but common source transmission does occur.

Transmission
Hepatitis A virus is excreted in feces of infected people and can produce clinical disease when a susceptible individual consumes contaminated water or foods. Cold cuts and sandwiches, fruits, fruit juices, milk and milk products, vegetables, salads, shellfish, and iced drinks all can be considered vehicles for the transmission of Hepatitis A.

Symptoms
Hepatitis A is usually a mild illness characterized by sudden onset of fever, malaise, nausea, anorexia, and abdominal discomfort, followed by several days of jaundice.

 

Listeria monocytogenes

Found
Some studies suggest that 1% to 10% of humans may be intestinal carriers of Listeria Monocytogenes. It has been found in at least 37 mammalian species, both domestic and feral, as well as at least 17 species of birds and possibly some species of fish and shellfish. It can be isolated from soil, silage, and other environmental sources

Transmission
Raw milks, pasteurized fluid milk, cheeses, ice cream, raw vegetables, fermented raw-meat sausages, raw and cooked poultry, raw meats, and raw and smoked fish.

Symptoms
Some studies suggest that 1% to 10% of humans may be intestinal carriers of Listeria monocytogenes. It has been found in at least 37 mammalian species, both domestic and feral, as well as at least 17 species of birds, and possibly some species of fish and shellfish. It can be isolated from soil, silage, and other environmental sources.

 

Listeria monocytogenes

Found
Intestinal tracts of humans and animals, milk, soil, leaf vegetables, and processed foods; can grow slowly at refrigerator temperatures.

Transmission
Soft cheese, raw milk, improperly processed ice cream, raw leafy vegetables, meat, and poultry. Illness caused by bacteria that do not produce toxin.

Symptoms
Fever, chills, headache, backache, sometimes abdominal pain and diarrhea; 12 hours to three weeks; may later develop more serious illness in at-risk patients (meningitis or spontaneous abortion in pregnant women); sometimes just fatigue.

 

Norwalk virus group

Found
The virus has been identified in clams and oysters by radio immunoassay. It is typically shed in the feces of humans.

Transmission
Norwalk gastroenteritis is transmitted by the fecal-oral route via contaminated water and foods. Shellfish and salad ingredients are the foods most often implicated in Norwalk outbreaks. Ingestion of raw or insufficiently steamed clams and oysters poses a high risk for infection with Norwalk virus.

 

Salmonella (over 2,300 types)

Found
Intestinal tract and feces of animals; Salmonella enteritidis in raw eggs.

Transmission
Raw or undercooked eggs, poultry, and meat; raw milk and dairy products; seafood and food handlers.

Symptoms
Stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, chills, fever, and headache usually appear eight to 72 hours after eating; may last one to two days.

 

Shigella (over 30 types)

Found
Human intestinal tract; rarely found in other animals.

Transmission
Person-to-person by fecal-oral route; fecal contamination of food and water. Most outbreaks result from food, especially salads, prepared and handled by workers using poor personal hygiene techniques.

Symptoms
Disease referred to as "shigellosis" or bacillary dysentery. Diarrhea containing blood and mucus, fever, abdominal cramps, chills, and vomiting; 12 to 50 hours from ingestion of bacteria; can last a few days to two weeks.

 

Vibrio parahaemolyticus and other marine Vibrio spp.

Found
Both pathogenic and non-pathogenic forms of the organism can be isolated from marine and estuarine environments and from fish and shellfish dwelling in these environments.

Transmission
Infections with this organism have been associated with the consumption of raw, improperly cooked, or cooked, recontaminated fish and shellfish.

Symptoms
Diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, headache, fever, and chills may be associated with infections caused by this organism.