Food poisoning

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Food poisoning

What is food Poisoning?

Food poisoning is an illness which occurs after eating or drinking anything infected by harmful micro-organisms such as bacteria, parasites, viruses, or from chemicals. Unfortunately you can't tell from eating or drinking whether food or drink is contaminated with these harmful micro-organisms.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms suffered will depend on the type of micro organism ingested. The most common symptoms include diarrhoea, sickness, nausea, stomach cramps and fever. The length of illness will depend on the micro-organism ingested. It may be just one one day or continue for several weeks.

The most common food poisoning cases reported to Nottingham City Council are Campylobacter species, Salmonella species and Cryptosporidium species.

I think I've suffered from food poisoning. What do I do?

To determine whether you have suffered food poisoning a faecal sample must be taken while you have symptoms so the public health microbiologist can analyse which micro-organism is causing your illness.

Faecal sample pots can be obtained from your doctor or from contacting the City Council's Food and Licensing section on 0115 9156778

Only a teaspoonful of faeces is required. Use the spoon provided in the faecal pot to get your sample. Leave the spoon in the container and screw the top of the pot down tightly.

Remember to fill in personal details on the faecal pot, for example, your name, date of birth, date and time the sample was taken.

Clinical specimens must not be sent through the post but should be delivered to either:-

Public Health Lab.
Queen's Medical Centre
Pathology Reception
City Hospital

Or to your nearest health centre.

Store your faecal sample in a cool place overnight until it is delivered.

What questions will be asked when I contact the Food and Licensing section?

What symptoms were suffered and when did they start?

What foods have I eaten within the past 72 hours?

Have any members of the family suffered any similar symptoms?

Where have I eaten within the past 72 hours?

Have any pets or animals that I've been in contact with been poorly?

Have I visited any farms?

Have I been in contact with potentially contaminated water i.e. streams rivers, swimming pools etc?

Am I a food handler, or do I work with the young, elderly or people who are immuno- surpressed?

If you are ringing about your child, we will need to know how old the child is and whether he/ she attends a nursery school/ crèche, playgroup or a similar place?

I think I've suffered from food poisoning. How do I prevent my family being poorly?

Disinfect toilet seats, flush handles, door handles and taps daily with a disinfectant

Wash soiled clothing / bedding on their own, in a hot cycle

Ensure you regularly wash your hands with soap and running hot water and dry thoroughly, especially before preparing food and after going to the toilet

Avoid preparing food for other people

Do I go to work or send my child to school?

If your work involves handling food, nursing or working with the young, sick or elderly you must promptly inform your employer and stay away from work.

If symptoms persists, medical advice must be sought and the food handler should only return to work when there is:-

No vomiting for 48 hours once any treatment has ceased;
Bowel habits have returned to normal for 48 hours either spontaneously or following cessation of treatment with anti diarrhoeal drugs

Good hygiene practice, particularly hand washing, is observed in all circumstances.

If children are ill should they stay off school?

Yes, all children should stay off school until they are free from diarrhoea and vomiting.

If your child is less than five years old and attends nursery, nursery school, playgroups or other similar groups, a longer period of exclusion may be appropriate. A longer period of exclusion may also be appropriate for older children unable to maintain good personal hygiene.

If your child has been diagnosed as suffering from a food poisoning infection contact an environmental health officer in the Food and Licensing section at Nottingham City Council for advice on when your child should return to school.

So what can I do in my home to prevent being ill?

Store raw meat at the bottom of your refrigerator to ensure blood from raw meat cannot drip onto other foods in the refrigerator. Keep all foods covered.

Don't drink bottled milk if it has been pecked by birds, as birds carry harmful micro-organisms and could get into the milk.

Don't eat raw eggs or uncooked foods made from them such as home made ice cream and mousses. Do not drink unpasteurised milk.

Wash hands carefully after handling eggs as harmful micro organisms can be carried on their shell.

Keep pets and pet food away from food surfaces, food and utensils.

Store eggs in the fridge and eat them within their best before date.

Keep the fridge operating below 8°C.

Wash your hands under running warm water and with soap after handling raw foods and after going to the toilet, changing nappies, blowing your nose, touching your hair, touching pets and waste. Ensure your hands are dried afterwards.

Follow use by dates on packaged foods and eat left-overs within two days.

Disinfect work surfaces regularly, especially after preparing raw food and before preparing other foods which are ready to eat.

Defrost food thoroughly in covered containers in the refrigerator.

Cook food thoroughly and check that meat juices, especially poultry, are running clear. Follow manufacturer's instructions on how to safely microwave your food. Never reheat food more than once.

Don't allow food to stand at room temperature for a long period. Quickly cool foods and put them in the refrigerator or keep them warm in the oven. Ideally eat your food as soon as it is cooked or prepared. Harmful micro-organisms can not grow quickly if foods are stored at the correct temperatures.

Don't store food in open cans as the food may react with the metal and allow the metal to migrate into the food

Number of cases of food poisoning reported to Nottingham City Council in 2003

Statistics for infectious diseases / Food Poisoning (FP) reported to Nottingham City Council Jan - Dec 2003	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D	Sum
Campylobacter	12	15	23	17	5	20	14	19	17	23	21	12	198
Salmonella enteritidis	1	0	3	3	7	2	7	0	9	7	3	0	42
Salmonella typhimurium	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	1	1	6
Salmonella virchow	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Salmonella spp. Others	0	1a	0	0	2b	2c	1d	0	1e	0	0	2f	11
Salmonella spp Unknown	1	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	6	1	0	12
Suspected FP	1	1	2	2	1	2	1	5	6	2	5	7	35
E.coli 0157	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cryptosporidium	0	0	0	1	2	2	0	6	4	6	1	5	27
Viral Hepatitis	3	3	1	1	2	0	1	3	5	4	4	4	31
Legionellosis	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	0	0	0	1	0	6
Giardia lamblia	1	1	0	0	1	2	0	2	1	5	2	1	16
Others (inc. Mumps,Measles, Rubella, TB, Meningitis, Scarlet fever, Opthalmia neonatorum, Meningicoccal septicaemia, Norwalk-like Viruses etc)	13	14	6	12	16	10	13	5	15	10	4	11	129
Total	32	35	35	37	37	44	43	41	58	62	44	43	513

(a) Salmonella reading

(b) Salmonella paratyph ; Salmonella typhi (foreign travel acquired in both cases).

(d) Salmonella bareilly (foreign travel acquired)

(e) Salmonella paratyphi (foreign travel acquired).

(f) Salmonella choleraesuis (unknown source of infection); Salmonella typhi (foreign travel acquired)

Food poisoning cases recorded

This is the key to the graph

Campylobacter: reported cases in Nottinghamshire 2002 and 2003

Cases of Campylobacter as a graph

Salmonella: reported cases in Nottinghamshire 2002 and 2003

Cases of Salmonella as a graph

Suspected food poisoning: reported cases in Nottinghamshire 2002 and 2003

Cases of suspected food poisoning as a graph

There are a lot more harmful micro-organisms which can cause illness. These can be reviewed by accessing The Health Prevention Agency Website

Information on Campylobacter spp

Illness	Campylobacter enteritis
Sources	Poultry, meat, untreated milk, 'bird pecked milk,' untreated water, contact with domestic animals, shellfish
Spread	Via food, (undercooked, or via cross contamination,) water or from animals
Symptoms	General malaise, followed by severed diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Vomiting is rare. May be confused with appendicitis because of the severe pain and fever. Blood and mucus may be excreted in the faeces. Death is rare. May be associated complications such as reactive arthritis
Duration of illness	2 days-1 week
Onset time	1-10 days usually 2-5 days

Management of outbreaks of foodborne illness, Department of Health, 1994 p62-63

Information on Cryptosporidium spp

Illness	Cryptosporidiosis
Sources	Drinking water, infected people, infected animals, ( pets and farm animals)
Spread	Water is the commonest cause of spread but human to human transmission is possible via the faecal oral route. Spread can also be from animal to human.
Symptoms	Self limiting diarrhoea, bloating, cramping, abdominal pain
Duration of illness	Up to 3 weeks
Onset time	1-2 weeks

Management of outbreaks of foodborne illness, Department of Health, 1994 p 68-69

Information on Salmonella enteritidis

Illness	Salmonellosis
Sources	Food animals, unpasteurised milk, raw eggs, meat, poultry, infected food handlers, pets
Spread	Inadequate cooking and or cross contamination, exacerbated by poor handling/storage techniques of food. Occasionally from infected animals. Human to human cases is possible from cases with diarrhoea.
Symptoms	General malaise, diarrhoea, high fever, vomiting, severe abdominal pain. Septicaemia or peritonitis may develop.
Duration of illness	Up to 3 weeks. May be a carrier for up to 12 weeks or longer after symptoms have subsided.
Onset time	12-48 hours

Management of outbreaks of foodborne illness, Department of Health, 1994 p 83-84

Information on Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi

Illness	Typhoid/ paratyphoid
Sources	Human intestinal tract
Spread	Contamination of food or water by infected food handlers or by sewerage
Symptoms	Fever, abdominal pain, constipation rather than diarrhoea, rashes
Duration of illness	10-14 days
Onset time	12-20 days range 3-56

Management of outbreaks of foodborne illness, Department of Health, 1994 p85-86