Foodborne Illness Sources
BACTERIA
The spores are heat resistant and can
survive in foods that are incorrectly or
minimally processed. The small numbers of
outbreaks reported annually in the U.S. are
mostly associated with inadequately
Botulism
processed, home-canned foods, but
occasionally commercially-produced foods
have been involved in outbreaks.
Sausages, meat products, canned Botulism can be fatal so medical attention
vegetables and seafood products have been needs to be sought immediately.
vehicles for human botulism
Bacteria on poultry, cattle, and sheep can
contaminate meat and milk of these
Campylobacteriosis
animals. Chief raw food sources: raw
poultry, meat, and unpasteurized milk.
The bacterium E. coli O157:H7 is a rare but
dangerous type of E. coli. The organism can
be found on a small number of cattle farms
and can live in the intestines of healthy
cattle. Meat can become contaminated
during slaughter, and organisms can be
thoroughly mixed into beef when it is
ground. Bacteria present on the cow's
udders or on equipment may get into raw
E-coli O157:H7
milk.
Symptoms
Onset: Generally 4-36 hours after eating.
Symptoms: Neurotoxic symptoms, including
double vision, inability to swallow, speech
difficulty, and progressive paralysis of the
respiratory system.
Onset: Generally 2-5 days after eating.
Symptoms: Diarrhea, abdominal cramping,
fever, and sometimes bloody stools. Lasts 7-
10 days.
Onset: Generally 2-5 days after eating.
Symptoms: Severe bloody diarrhea and
abdominal cramps; sometimes the infection
causes non-bloody diarrhea or no symptoms.
Usually little or no fever is present, and the
illness resolves in 5 to 10 days.
In some persons, particularly children under 5
years of age and the elderly, the infection can
also cause a complication called hemolytic

Eating meat, especially ground beef that
has not been cooked sufficiently to kill E.
coli O157:H7 can cause infection.
Contaminated meat looks and smells
normal. Although the number of organisms
required to cause disease is not known, it is
suspected to be very small.
uremic syndrome (HUS), in which the red
blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail.
About 2%-7% of infections lead to this
complication. In the United States, hemolytic
uremic syndrome is the principal cause of
acute kidney failure in children, and most
cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome are
caused by E. coli O157:H7.

Among other known sources of infection are

consumption of sprouts, lettuce, salami,
unpasteurized milk and juice, and swimming
in or drinking sewage-contaminated water.

Bacteria in diarrheal stools of infected

persons can be passed from one person to
another if hygiene or handwashing habits
are inadequate. This is particularly likely
among toddlers who are not toilet trained.
Family members and playmates of these
children are at high risk of becoming
infected.

Young children typically shed the organism

in their feces for a week or two after their
illness resolves. Older children rarely carry
the organism without symptoms.

Found in soft cheese, unpasteurized milk,
hot dogs and deli meats, imported seafood
Listeriosis
products, frozen cooked crab meat, cooked
shrimp, and cooked surimi (imitation
Onset: From 7-30 days after eating, but most
symptoms have been reported 48-72 hours
after consumption of contaminated food.
 shellfish). The Listeria bacteria resist heat,
salt, and acidity better than many other
micro-organisms. They survive and grow at
refrigeration temperatures.
In most instances, caused by failure to keep
food hot. A few organisms are often present
after cooking and multiply to toxic levels
Perfringens food during cool down and storage of prepared
poisoning foods. Meats and meat products are the
foods most frequently implicated. These
organisms grow better than other bacteria
between 120-130° F. So gravies and
stuffing must be kept above 140° F.
Raw meats, poultry, eggs, milk and other
dairy products, shrimp, frog legs, yeast,
Salmonellosis
coconut, pasta and chocolate are most
frequently involved.
Found in milk and dairy products, poultry,
and potato salad. Food becomes
Shigellosis (bacillary
contaminated when a human carrier does
dysentery)
not wash hands and then handles liquid or
food that is not thoroughly cooked
afterwards. Organisms multiply in food left
at room temperature.
Symptoms: Fever, headache, nausea, and
vomiting. Primarily affects pregnant women
and their fetuses, newborns, the elderly,
people with cancer, and those with impaired
immune systems. Can cause fetal and infant
death.
Onset: Generally 8-12 hours after eating.
Symptoms: Abdominal pain and diarrhea, and
sometimes nausea and vomiting.
Symptoms last a day or less and are usually
mild. Can be more serious in older or
debilitated people.
Onset: Generally 8-12 hours after eating.
Symptoms: Abdominal pain and diarrhea, and
sometimes nausea and vomiting. Symptoms
last a day or less and are usually mild. Can be
more serious in older or debilitated people.
Onset: 1-7 days after eating.
Symptoms: Abdominal cramps, diarrhea,
fever, sometimes vomiting, and blood, pus, or
mucus in stool.
 Toxin produced when food contaminated
Staphylococcal food with the bacteria is left too long at room
temperature. Meats, poultry, egg products,
poisoning
tuna, potato and macaroni salads, and
cream-filled pastries are good environments
for these bacteria to produce toxin.
Vibrio Infection The bacteria live in coastal waters and can
infect humans either through open wounds
or through consumption of contaminated
seafood. The bacteria are most numerous in
warm weather.
PROTOZOA
Exist in the intestinal tract of humans and
are expelled in feces. Polluted water and
Amebiasis
vegetables grown in polluted soil spread the
infection.
Most frequently associated with
consumption of contaminated water. May be
transmitted by uncooked foods that become
Giardiasis contaminated while growing or after cooking
by infected food handlers. Cool, moist
conditions favor organism's survival.
Onset: Generally 30 minutes-8 hours after
eating.
Symptoms: Diarrhea, vomiting, nausea,
abdominal pain, cramps, and prostration. Lasts
24-48 hours. Rarely fatal.
Onset: Abrupt.
Symptoms: Chills, fever, and/or prostration. At
high risk are people with liver conditions, low
gastric (stomach) acid, and weakened immune
systems.
Onset: 3-10 days after exposure.
Symptoms: Severe crampy pain, tenderness
over the colon or liver, loose morning stools,
recurrent diarrhea, loss of weight, fatigue, and
sometimes anemia.
Onset: 1-3 days.
Symptoms: Sudden onset of explosive watery
stools, abdominal cramps, anorexia, nausea,
and vomiting. Especially infects hikers,
children, travelers, and institutionalized
patients.
VIRUSES
An extremely common cause of foodborne Onset: Generally 24-28 hours after exposure.
illness, and the leading cause of acute
gastroenteritis, though rarely diagnosed,
Calcivirus (Norwalk- because the laboratory test is not widely Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea,
like virus, Norovirus) available. abdominal pain. Headache and low-grade
fever may also accompany this
Norwalk-like virus spreads primarily from infection. Lasts for 24 to 60 hours.
one infected person to another. Infected
persons can contaminate a salad, sandwich
or other food as they prepare it if they have
the virus on their hands.
Mollusks (oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, Onset and Symptoms: Begins with malaise,
and cockles) become carriers when their appetite loss, nausea, vomiting, and fever.
beds are polluted by untreated sewage. After 3-10 days patient develops jaundice with
Hepatitis A virus Raw shellfish are especially potent carriers, darkened urine. Severe cases can cause liver
although cooking does not always kill the damage and death.
virus.

The original information can also be found at: http://www.fightbac.org/about-foodborne-illness/causes-a-symptoms