Question

What are the major organisms are associated with food poisoning? What is the causative agent of each and what is the time interval between contact and the first symptoms of the infection? Include both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, protozoa, and viruses. Include the virulence of the organism.

Answer 1

Food poisoning is caused by the contaminated food or water with bacteria,virus ,parasites or chemicals.

The most common oranisms associated with foodpoisoning are Norovirus,Escherichia coli,Salmonella,clostridium pefringes,staphylococcus aureus, and camphylobacter.

The time interval depends on the source of infection.It varies up to 1 hour to as long as 28 days. In food poisoning most people complain of nausea ,vomiting,abdominal cramps and head ache and eventually cause dehydration.

Incubation period time for large and small intestine food poisoning are fro 1- 3 days.If small and large intestine are affected bloody mucosal diarrhoea with abdominal cramps may be present.

Salmonella infections occur because of poorly or undercooked handling of chicken and eggs.persons with poor immune system is most prone to infections.This type of infections will enter the blood strea,m and cause life threatening infections.

E.coli is said to be the travellers diarrhea.It lacks symptoms such as fever and bloody diarrhea.

Bacteria

Staphylococcus aureus causes vomiting within 1 to 6 hours after eating contaminated food.

Clostridium perfringes produces a spore when the food mostly chicken are store in warm temperature.

Virus

-Rotavirus mainly affect the agegroup of children .Symptoms associated with this are fever,chills and vomiting.

Hepatitis A is caused by poor food handling

Protozoa

Toxoplasmosis - usually transmitted through faeces of cat containing parasites.Most people wiyh low immunity can develop systematic symptoms while others bwill be asymptamatic.

Parasite

Amoebiasis - seen in contaminated water and can be paassed person to person

Trichimosis -mostly caused due to eating of undercooked wild meat.

Cysticerosis -it is caused by the contamination of water by pork tapeworms.when people drinks water the person will ingest the ova form the tapworm.This will cause seizures by invading the infection into the brain.