Canada and the World

        Current Events with a Canadian Perspective

 

Last update

19 November 2010

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Food-borne Illness Widespread

 

Pathogen is the name given to such things

as viruses and bacteria that cause disease;

some are found in food and must be

rendered harmless before the food is safe to eat

 

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency “there are as many as 13 million cases of food-borne illness in Canada every year. Most pathogens have Latin names; while they might be hard to pronounce the effects they have are easy to understand.

 

Gastrointestinal Upset from Fouled Water

Cyclospora cayetanensis is an organism that causes gastrointestinal upsets and is transmitted through food or water contaminated by human feces.

 

Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says “that fresh fruits and vegetables (berries, basil, and mesculin lettuce) may be sources of Cyclospora infection.”

 

Symptoms show up in about a week and are very unpleasant – “watery and sometimes explosive diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, nausea, gas, stomach cramps, muscle ache, vomiting, low-grade fever, bloating and fatigue.”

 

Cyclospora is not life-threatening in otherwise healthy people and responds quickly to antibiotic treatment. There was an outbreak in 1996 in Canada and the United States that was traced to raspberries imported from Guatemala.

 

Contaminated Water Causes Deaths

E. coli (shown here magnified 10,000 times) was made infamous in Canada by the deaths of seven people and the illness of 2,300 others in Walkerton, Ontario in May 2000.

 

That particular strain has the science fiction-like name of 0157:H7 and wasn’t discovered until 1982. It lives in the intestines of cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. In Walkerton, 0157:H7 got into the water system through animal feces contaminating a well. It can infect humans through improperly cooked and handled meat. Symptoms go from a mild flu-like ailment all the way up to kidney failure and death.

 

Since then, there have been other outbreaks of E.coli infection. CFIA says that “Californian leafy greens have been associated with several outbreaks of food-borne illnesses over the past ten years.

 

“In September 2006, a large multi-state outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses associated with contaminated fresh Californian baby spinach resulted in 205 confirmed cases, including one confirmed illness in Canada, and three deaths in the U.S.”

 

Contaminated Food Creates Illness

Norwalk virus is usually passed by kitchen workers on to others through food. It causes the usual unpleasant stomach upset and normally lasts only a couple of days.

 

Salmonella is a bacterium found in poultry, eggs, and fruits and vegetables that have been in soil with animal waste. It’s one of the most frequent causes of what’s called “food poisoning,” causing mild diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, fever, and severe dehydration.

 

Taxoplasma is a parasite that can affect humans through infected eggs. It brings with it a slight fever, enlarged lymph nodes, and flu-like symptoms. People with weak immune systems may develop pneumonia.

 

Worm Found in Pork

Trichinella spiralis is a worm that causes trichinellosis, and is transferred to humans in infected pork. Sufferers start out with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and watery stools. Then, the face very often becomes puffy and swollen, especially around the eyes, and headache and even delirium occur.

 

Five percent of those infected die. Survivors may take six months to re-cover and be left with permanent heart or eye damage.

 

New Pathogens are Being Discovered

Scientists are now finding new pathogens that can cause food-borne illness.

 

Campylobacter jejuni is now the most common bacterial cause of diarrhea in industrialized countries. Caused by contaminated raw foods it is the most common pathogen in poultry.

 

It brings on fever, headache, muscle pain, diarrhea, and nausea; in extreme cases it leads to arthritis, blood poisoning, meningitis, inflammation of the heart and other organs, and Guillain-Barre syndrome (paralysis).

 

Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause blood poisoning, meningitis, and stillbirth, kills up to one-third of the people infected. It can be contracted by eating or even touching infected dairy products, vegetables, fish, and meat products.

 

In the summer of 2008, there was an outbreak of listeriosis that was traced to a meat processing plant in Toronto owned by Maple Leaf Foods. It caused the deaths of 21 people.

 

Most of the nasty experiences caused by these pathogens can be avoided by:

• Buying food only from reputable vendors;
• Washing fruits and vegetables thoroughly;
• Following cooking instructions carefully; and,
• Maintaining strict personal hygiene.

 

© Canada and the World, August 2010

All rights reserved

All food has some micro-organisms on it; fortunately most are not harmful.

 

“Globally, outbreaks of human trichinellosis associated with pork from abattoirs operating under modern inspection systems rarely occur.”

Canadian Food Inspection Agency