U.S. Food Safety: Foodborne Illnesses a Menu for Disaster

(Page 3)

Campylobacter tends to strike in single, sporadic cases rather than large outbreaks. Most cases are associated with handling raw poultry or eating raw or undercooked poultry meat. Some 80 percent to 100 percent of chickens in the United States are carriers of this bacterium.

"There's nothing glamorous or high-tech about preventing these things," said Andrews-Polymenis. "It's all about good preventive maintenance."

LISTERIA

The incidence of Listeria infection, caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, is on the wane, said Tauxe.

Pregnant women, newborns and adults with compromised immune system are more vulnerable to this infection, characterized by fever, muscle aches and sometimes nausea or diarrhea. The infection can spread to the nervous system, resulting in headache, confusion, loss of balance or convulsions.

Some 2,500 people in the United States become ill each year with listeriosis, and about 500 die.

Listeria is usually killed by cooking and pasteurization but can be present in certain ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs and deli meats.

VIBRIO VULNIFICUS

Infection with this bacterium, which is in the same family as the bugs that cause cholera, usually comes from eating contaminated seafood. Infection can cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain in healthy people. In immuno-compromised people, it can infect the bloodstream, resulting in septic shock. About half of the people who develop a bloodstream infection will die. From 1988 to 1995, there were 300 reported cases of infection from the Gulf Coast states, where most of the cases occur. Infection can be prevented by avoiding raw oysters or other raw shellfish, and avoiding cross-contamination of cooked seafood and other foods with raw seafood and juices from raw seafood.

OTHER OFFENDERS

Shigella is a bacteria found naturally in the intestinal tracts of humans and other primates. But people who eat food or drink water contaminated by Shigella can become ill with shigellosis. Food contaminated with Shigella usually comes from water polluted by human sewage or if handled by a person infected with Shigella or by cross-contamination.