Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 10, 1993 TAG: 9308130239
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Kerry Dougherty Landmark News Service
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But wait a minute. This isn't a scrumptious summer supper, it's a recipe for retching.
Raw oysters? Forget it. Those chewy bivalves may be swarming with a bacteria closely related to those causing cholera.
Caesar salad? The raw eggs in the dressing may be crawling with salmonella.
Burgers? Better burn those babies. Undercooked beef is one of the most common ways of becoming infected with the E-coli bacteria (you don't want to know where that originates). That's the same bug that killed three children, put another in a coma and sent hundreds of other people victims to the hospital in Washington last January after they dined at Jack in the Box restaurants.
Chicken? If it hasn't been cooked thoroughly or has been sunbathing for a while, better forget it. Some health experts reckon that 90 percent of America's poultry is infected with salmonella.
Strawberry shortcake? Watch out for whipped cream that's been kept at room temperature. Better break out the Popsicles.
Food poisoning - the catchall term that describes any of the 250 diseases that can be caused by tainted foods - may be one of the most common illnesses in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta receive reports of 9 million cases a year.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. "Most cases go unreported," acknowledges says Dr. Paul Cieslak, a medical epidemiologist with the centers. "The people either don't go to the hospital or they go and the hospital never takes a culture. You should multiply that 9 million figure by 20 to 100 to get the real numbers."
Food-borne illnesses range from the most common - salmonella - to cholera.
The Centers estimate that at least 9,000 Americans die each year as a result of contaminated food.
"It's the very young, the very old, and those with impaired immune systems mostly," says Cieslak.
Ironically, food poisoning is almost always avoidable, he says. It just requires proper food handling and a few digestive rules.
"Never eat raw animal products," Cieslak cautions.
That means passing up the egg nog at Christmas, refraining from tasting uncooked cookie dough and never licking the beaters of cake batter. It also means eschewing clams on the half-shell, as well as raw oysters. And saying sayonara to sushi, steak tartare and rare meat.
"Make sure hot foods stay hot and cold foods stay cold," Cieslak advises.
Easier said than done in a hot climate where eating outdoors is a popular pastime. But fried chicken and potato salad that have been in the heat or sun for more than an hour or two are best passed by - better yet, thrown away. Products made with mayonnaise should be refrigerated until consumed. So should eggs, even hard-boiled and deviledi
\ Sudden onset
Cieslak says most of us have suffered from food-borne illness. "If you've ever had diarrhea, you've probably had food poisoning," he says. Local hospitals do not keep statistics on food poisoning, mostly because it is so common and mimics other ailments, like influenza.
"Food poisoning is usually recognizable because of the sudden and abrupt onset of nausea, diarrhea and vomiting," says Dr. Trent Martin, a Virginia Beach gastroenterologist. "The flu is usually accompanied by fever, aches and pains, and is slower to kick in."
Most sufferers should stay home, drink water and wait it out. Martin says food poisoning usually goes as fast as it comes, within six to 12 hours.
"There are several things that should send someone to the hospital," he cautions. `A fever greater than 101 degrees, passing blood in the stool and light-headedness and dizziness, a sign of dehydration."
The most common culprits? Martin answers in two words: "fast food."
"Places where the food is handled by a lot of people."
Second on Martin's list are picnics and other places where food is left in the sun.
\ Spoonful of relief
In addition to keeping mayonnaise and other egg products chilled, Martin warns that milk products, like whipped cream, can prove a fertile breeding ground for staph if left in the sun.
Martin advises food-poisoning sufferers to take Pepto-Bismol at the first sign of gastro-intestinal disorders, but warns them away from most other over-the-counter diarrhea remedies.
"Pepto-Bismol is great; most people don't realize that the bismuth in it helps bind up the toxins in the body and send it out with the stool," he says. "Things like Immodium AD just slow down the process, leaving the toxins in the body for a longer period of time."
by CNB