Food poisoning triggers illnesses

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Friday, February 8, 2008

Recent findings that some foodborne illnesses trigger serious health problems years after the fact are no cause for alarm, a local Health Department official said.

In the first place, said Joe Mariotti epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health, west central district, that news isn’t exactly news.

“The medical and science community have been aware of this for some time,” he said. “I don’t know why it’s getting so much attention now.”

Secondly, “It doesn’t mean with every food-borne illness you will suffer residual consequences. Only about one in a thousand do.”

To be sure, E.coli and certain other foodborne illnesses can sometimes initiate serious health problems in victims months or years later.

“Not all E.coli causes ill effects,” Mariotti said. “We all have E.coli naturally in our digestive system. It helps with digestion.”

E.coli 0157H7 is the trouble maker. High blood pressure, kidney damage and full kidney failure have been surfacing up to 20 years later in people who survived severe E. coli infection as children

It’s not alone, however. There is more an more evidence implicating other bacteria as causing problems:

n Campylobacter is commonly spread by undercooked poultry. Some who are infected with it develop Guillain-Barre syndrome (French polio) about a month later. Their body attacks their nerves, causing paralysis that usually requires intensive care and a ventilator to breathe.

n Most Salmonella infections can be traced back to dairy, poultry and meat products. Salmonella can cause reactive arthritis six months or more after the infection. It causes joint pain, eye inflammation, sometimes painful urination, and can lead to chronic arthritis.

Late effects make up a small segment 76 million annual food poisonings nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Foodborne illnesses, according to the CDC, cause 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths a year.

Even so, Mariotti said, it’s nothing to panic about.

“Simple precautions can prevent it,” he said. “We need to make sure, if we have control over the product, that it’s adequately cooked — no pink centers. No individuals in this district have had any long-term problems.”