FOOD POISONING LEADS TO ILLNESS

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Food poisoning causes an illness which comes on after eating contaminated food. This illness is usually expressed in the form of diarrhea and stomach pain. On rare occasions food poisoning can be more serious and can result in paralysis and even temporary blindness. Stomach pains and diarrhea develop within 12 hours after eating contaminated food. If the patients go to bed for a day or two, they usually recover quickly. Antibiotics or admission to hospitals are rarely necessary.

The official food poisoning figures are usually understated as most food poisoning cases are never reported. Almost 90 per cent of the incidence of food poisoning is due to contaminated meat, poultry or fish; and many of these cases are caused by a bacterium called salmonella. This bacterium is transmitted by the contamination of food and water and faces and it lives in the intestines of men, animals and birds.