FOOD POISONING

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Food poisoning

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Definition

Food poisoning is the result of eating organisms or toxins in contaminated food. Most cases of food poisoning are from common bacteria such as Staphylococcus or E. coli.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Food poisoning can affect one person or it can occur as an outbreak in a group of people who all ate the same contaminated food.

Food poisoning tends to occur at picnics, school cafeterias, and large social functions. In these cases, food may be left out of the refrigerator too long or food preparation techniques may not be clean. Food poisoning often occurs from eating undercooked meats, dairy products, or food containing mayonnaise (like coleslaw or potato salad) that have sat out of the refrigerator too long.

Food poisoning can be caused by:

• Bacillus cereus
• Botulism
• Campylobacter
• Cholera
• E. coli enteritis
• Fish poisoning
• Listeria
• Mushroom poisoning
• Salmonella
• Shigella
• Yersinia

Botulism is a very serious form of food poisoning that can be fatal. It can come from improper home canning.

Infants and elderly people have the greatest risk for food poisoning. You are also at higher risk if:

• You have a serious medical condition, such as kidney disease or diabetes
• You have a weakened immune system
• You travel outside of the U.S. to areas where there is more exposure to organisms that cause food poisoning

Pregnant and breastfeeding women have to be especially careful to avoid food poisoning.

Symptoms

The symptoms from the most common types of food poisoning generally start within 2 - 6 hours of eating the food. That time may be longer (even a number of days) or shorter, depending on the cause of the food poisoning.

Possible symptoms include:

• Abdominal cramps
• Diarrhea (may be bloody)
• Fever and chills
• Headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Weakness (may be serious and lead to respiratory arrest, as in the case of botulism)

Reviewer Info: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San Diego, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., 03/05/2009