Listeria is a bacterium that can thrive in both anaerobic (without oxygen) and aerobic (with oxygen) conditions, and is widely known for causing an infection in humans called listeriosis, a foodborne disease similar to food poisoning. There are six different species of listeria, and the one causing the disease is L. monocytogenes. Main listeriosis symptoms are typical for common foodborne diseases and include fever, muscle aches, and nausea or diarrhea. Listeria infection accounts for around 300 deaths annually, according to a 2011 CDC report. Listeria bacteria are usually found in raw animal products, like meat and cheese, as well as any raw food in general. For example, soil and water may carry the bacteria onto the vegetables, thus contaminating the fresh produce.
New listeria outbreak from packaged salad follows earlier soft cheese listeriosis wave
Listeria is a serious, life-threatening illness, and so far one person has died, while the others who have become infected have all been hospitalized. The outbreak first began back in July 2015, affecting 15 people, including a pregnant woman. In January, this number increased again, and researchers have found that specimen in all the listeria tests are related genetically.
The source of the outbreak comes from Dole-packaged salads coming from a processing center in Springfield, Ohio. This same salad may be sold under various other names as well, which could be furthering the outbreak. Continue reading…
Listeria food poisoning symptoms, listeriosis risk high in pregnant women, elderly and newborns
Listeria can be found in water, soil, infected animals, human animal feces, raw and treated sewage, leafy vegetables, effluent from meat and poultry processing, decaying corn and soybean, and raw unpasteurized milk. Food-borne transmission of listeria is estimated at 85 to 95 percent of cases. It is unknown what the dosage of listeria should be in order to cause infection; therefore, even a small amount may be enough to bring on symptoms.
Listeria can affect anyone, but those with weakened immune systems, such as pregnant women, newborns and the elderly, are at a higher risk of developing a listeria infection. Continue reading…
Reduce food poisoning risk by using disinfectant wipes in the kitchen
Their results were entered into a computer to calculate potential risk, and found that using disinfectant wipes could reduce the ingestion of bacteria up to 99.2 percent. This means the risk of developing food poisoning went from 2:10 to 2:1000.
Lead researcher, Dr. Gerardo Lopez, said, “The scary thing about Campylobacter is that you really don’t need to ingest that many bacteria to get a nasty illness, so we have to wipe clean our kitchen surfaces and wash our hands after preparing poultry.” Continue reading…
1 in 10 people worldwide suffer foodborne diseases: WHO study
Task-force leader, Dr. Arie Havelaar, said, “The groups most adversely affected by the foodborne diseases are children and people in low-income regions of the world. Of those who lost years to ill-health, disability or early death, 40 percent were children under five years old, even though they constitute only nine percent of the world population. Foodborne illnesses affect people on the African continent the most, followed by sub-regions of Southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean.”
“Estimating the burden of foodborne diseases is highly complex due to the many diseases involved. The full extent of chemical and biological contamination of food, and its burden to society, is still unknown,” Dr. Havelaar added. Continue reading…