Foodborne illness is generally classified as a foodborne infection, intoxication, or toxin-mediated infection. It will be benefit if you are aware to how different microbes cause foodborne illness and understand hot they contaminate food.When microorganism is eaten along with a food, it can cause a foodborne infection. After ingestion, the organism borrows into the lining of the digestive tract and begins to grow in number that can lead to the common symptoms of foodborne illness.
Infection:
It is caused by eating food that contain living disease-causing microorganism
Intoxication:
It is caused by eating food that contain a harmful chemical or toxin produced by bacteria or other source. When a living orgaism multiplies in or on a food and produces a chemical waste or toxin. The toxin causes an illness typically called food poisoning.
Toxin_mediated Infection:
It is caused by eating a food that contains harmful microorganism that will produce a toxin once inside the human body. Once the orgaism is inside the human body, it produces a toxin that causes the illness. It is different from an intoxication because the toxin is produced inside the human body.
General Symptom of Foodborne Illness:
- Headache
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Dehydration
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Fatique
- Fever
Onset Time
Onset time is defined as the number of hours between the time a person eats contaminated food and when they first show the symptom. Foodborne illnesses have different onset times depending on factors such as age, health status, body weight, and the amount of contaminant ingested with the food. It can be hours to several days.
Risk Factors:
- Infant and young children
- Elderly
- Pregnan women
- Diabetes
- People taking certain medications
- People with suppressed immune system such as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
