Food Safety and Sanitation Can Prevent Long-Term Health Problems

E. coli and certain other foodborne illnesses can sometimes trigger serious health problems months or years after patients survived an initial bout. The Associated Press described high blood pressure, kidney damage, even full kidney failure striking 10 to 20 years later in people who survived severe E. coli infection as children. Other symptoms from foodborne illness included arthritis after a bout of salmonella or shigella and a mysterious paralysis that can attack people who just had mild symptoms of campylobacter.

The CDC says foodborne illnesses cause 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths a year. Among survivors, some long-term consequences are obvious from the outset. Some required kidney transplants. The survivors may have scarred intestines that promise lasting digestive problems.

But when people appear to recover, it is difficult to prove that later problems really are a food-poisoning legacy and not some unfortunate coincidence. It may be that people are prone to certain gastrointestinal conditions, for instance, or also genetically more vulnerable to germs that cause foodborne illness.

Providing a connection will require tracking a lot of patients who can provide very good medical records documenting their initial foodborne illness. Until then, there is not enough information to link reasoning for problems later in life. Regardless, it is important to take preventative action by practicing proper food handling techniques, especially for immune compromised, young, or elder persons. To learn about proper food handling techniques, visit the USDA website at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Safe_Food_Handling_Fact_Sheets/index.asp
To read more about foodborne illness and long-term effects, visit:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080121/ap_on_he_me/healthbeat_food_poisoning