Food poisoning symptoms

Gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis is an acute inflammation of the lining of the stomach and intestines. Symptoms include anorexia, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain and weakness. Gastroenteritis has many causes, such as bacteria (food poisoning), viruses, parasites, consumption of irritating food or drink, as well as stress. Treatment for the condition depends on the underlying cause. 

Each year in the United States, approximately 76 million food-borne illnesses occur, leading to 325,000 hospitalizations and over 5000 deaths.40 A number of bacterial and viral pathogens that have been discussed previously in this chapter (e.g., Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, E. coli, and noroviruses) can cause food poisoning. Other bacteria that can cause foodborne illness include Staphylococcus aureus, C. perfringens, C. botu-linum, and Bacillus cereus (Table 73-5). Food poisoning should be suspected if at least two individuals present with similar symptoms after the ingestion of a common food in the prior 72 hours. 

Toxins present a variety of both incapacitating and lethal effect. Most toxins of military significance can be broadly classified in one of two ways. Neurotoxins disrupt the nervous system and interfere with nerve impulse transmission similar to nerve agents (Chapter 1). However, all neurotoxins do not operate through the same mechanism of action or do they produce the same symptoms. Cytotoxins are poisons that destroy cells or impair cellular activities. Symptoms may resemble those of vesicants (Chapter 3) or they may resemble food poisoning or other diseases. Toxins may also produce effects that are a combination of these general categories. The consequences of intoxication from any individual toxin can vary widely with route of exposure and dose. In addition, some toxins act as biomediators and cause the body to release excessive, and therefore harmful, amounts of chemicals that are normally produced by the body. 

Poisoning episodes in humans show that the central nervous system is the primary target system of orally administered endrin. Acute human poisonings by endrin-contaminated food caused symptoms of central nervous system toxicity such as jerking of arms and legs, tonic-clonic contractions, convulsions, and sudden collapse and death (Carbajal-Rodriquez et al. 1990 Coble et al. 1967 Davies and Lewis 1956 Rowley etal. 1987 Waller et al. 1992 Weeks 1967). 

Bacillus cereus exotoxin is produced in the gastrointestinal tract after ingestion of improperly stored boiled or fried rice. B. cereus toxin is thermoresistant, as is staphylococcal enterotoxin. Symptoms of food poisoning occur up to six hours after food ingestion and are not characteristic (Butterton and Claderwood, 2001). 

The first scientific report of an orally transmitted outbreak of Chagas disease in Brazil was made in 1968 (Nery-Guimaraes et ah, 1968). This occurred in the district of Teutonia, municipality of Estrela (Rio Grande do Sul state) in the year 1965, between March 13 and March 22. Seventeen people from an Agricultural School (workers, students, and lecturers that usually had meals there) fell sick. The initial unconfirmed diagnosis was typhoid fever. Other possible diagnoses like infectious hepatitis, toxoplasmosis, infectious mononucleosis, and food poisoning were also discarded. Then, some of the infected people presented with clinical symptoms of acute myocarditis, and, based on clinical observations,... 

A common example of neurobehavioral teratogenic effects caused by polluted food is the Minamata disease. In a number of areas in Japan methylmercury from industrial waste accumulated in fish which was one of the main sources of the food of the local population. Another case of poisoning with methylmercury occurred in Iraq, where people consumed grain seed treated with a methylmercury fungicide. Women with only minimal poisoning symptoms gave birth to children that showed many neurological and behavioral abnormalities, such as mental retardation, coordination deficits and seizures (refs. 12, 13). 

Contamination can be natural as well as man-made. We all eat food regularly and only rarely do we think about what it may contain. Our complacency can easily be shattered by a bout of food poisoning, which is most commonly the result of bacterial contamination, although similar symptoms can occur as a result of contamination by other agents, such as metals, as happened in Camelford (see pp. 143-4). If the bacteria are Salmonella or Campylobacter, the consequences may be extremely unpleasant and can be serious. These bacteria infect the gut of the unfortunate victim, multiply, and affect the lining of the intestine, causing the symptoms of diarrhoea and sickness. 

Cucurbitacins are drastic laxatives and emetics and can cause the symptoms of food poisoning (1). 

B. cereus food poisoning occurs year-round without any particular geographic distribution and all people are believed to be susceptible. The emetic type of food poisoning is most often associated with rice products that have been cooked and then held at warm temperatures for several hours other starchy foods such as potato, pasta, and cheese products have also been implicated. The emetic form is characterized by nausea and vomiting with 0.5-6 h after consumption of contaminated foods, symptoms that parallel those of Staphylococcus aureus food poisoning. The diarrheal type of food poisoning is frequently associated with foods (meats, milk. 

Endrin is more highly toxic than other organochlorine insecticides. The major target is the CNS. Major symptomatology is exemplified by rapid onset of violent epileptiform convulsions in severe poisoning cases. The onset may occur as rapidly as 0.5 h or delayed as much as lOh after ingestion of contaminated food. Other symptoms include headaches, dizziness, nervousness, confusion, nausea, and vomiting. 

Staphylococcal food poisoning is one of the most common types of food poisoning in the United States. The true incidence of staphylococcal food poisoning is unknown due to lack of information from victims, misdiagnosis of the illness, and inadequate collection of samples for laboratory analyses. A toxin dose of less than 1.0 pg in contaminated food will produce symptoms of staphylococcal intoxication. This toxin level represents a S. aureus population exceeding 100 000 organisms per gram. 

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