Food Poisoning

Food poisoning
The word poisoning may be used either in general or in

special senses. This can occurs in many ways. It can be
isolated instance or could be epidemic. The food borne
illness are among the commonest health problems
encountered world wide and are particularly rampart in the
third world or developing countries mainly due to lack of
sanitation, and public hygiene.
CAUSES:
1. Bacteria and their toxins
2. Vegetable\natural food poisoning
a. Lathyrus sativus
b. Poisonous mushroom
c. Argemone Mexicana
d. Solanine,etc
3. Animal food poison
a. Poisonous fish and meat
b. Mussel
4. Chemical food poisoning
All the above can be broadly classified as
 Bacterial
 Non bacterial food poisoning

BACTERICAL FOOD POISONING
The poisoning due to bacterial product is known as bacterial
poisoning and is of 3 types:
 Infection type
 Toxin type
 Botulism
1. INFECTION TYPE:-
This type of poisoning occurs due to the ingestion of viable
micro organisms that multiply in the gastro intestinal tract and
produce true infection.
E.g.: Salmonella group of organism
The bacteria multiple in the gastro intestinal tract and cause

gastroenteritis. The commonest attacking group is salmonella
and occasionally shigella.
Salmonella organisms natural reservoirs are birds, mammals,

reptiles. Food may be contaminated by infected excreata of
mice and rat. Sometimes the infection may be transmitted by
flied or carriers employed in food handling.
Shigella organism is the result of contaminated water or food

supplies with faeces of individuals who either have the disease
or less often the asymptomatic carriers of organism.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:
 Incubation period is longer than staphylococcus and

usally 12 hours or more.
 Sudden onset.
 Chills are the initial symptoms
 Nausea, vomiting, headache
 Severe abdominal cramps.
 Marked prostration
This condition is differentiated from staphylococcus food

poisoning by the following three characteristic feature of
staphylococcal infections:
 Muscular weakness
 Fever
 Persistent, foul smelling diarrhoea
TREATMENT:
 Stomach wash
 Purgative if diarrhoea is not present

 Chloromphenicol is the anti-biotic of choice. Ampicillin
and septran are also usefull
 For shigella infection sulpherguindine ampicillin

tetracycline, clotrimoxazole are helpful
 Symptomatic.
POST MORTEM APPEARANCE:
 Feature of gastroenteritis or Toxemia
 Inflamed or ulcerated mucosa
 Congestion of internal organs.
2. TOXIN TYPE FOOD POISONING:

Favourable Criteria:
 Contamination of food by strain og organism that produce

enterotoxin.
 Suitable strain is needed for growth og organism
 Infected food must also be kept at temperature suitable

for bacterial growth
 The infected food must be also kept for sufficient longer

period so as to allow appreciable quantity of entero-toxin
is formed.
 Most of the toxin type poisoning are due to staphylococci

which produced a heat stable entero-toxin.
Signs and symptoms:
 Symptoms develops rapidly and within one to four hours
 Salivation
 Recovery is in 24 hours
Treatment:
 Treatment is mainly symptomatic and is carried out on the

lines of salmonella food poisoning.
Post mortem appearances:
 Similar to salmonella poisoning.
3. BOTULISM
The word botulism is derived from botulismus which means
sausages. This word is adopted to this condition as large out
brekes of the diseases where first identified following ingestion
of improperly cooked sausages.
The causative agents is an anaerobic sore of forming bacillus,

clostridium botulinum which produced exotoxin. It is commonly
found in soil. This toxin is likly to be present in such soil
contaminated under cooked or canned foods. The foods that
are most often responsible of their infection are meat, fish, and
vegetables.
This toxin is destroyed at the temperature 80*C for 30 minutes

and hence adequate cooking gives protection against it. It
blocks the action of acetycholine and nerve impules at
myoneural junction.
Signs and symptoms:
 Symptoms being to manifest within 12-36 hours
 Diplopia due to ocular muscle palsy
 Difficulty in speech and swallowing
 Bulbar palsy
 Respiratory paralysis
 Normal or sub normal temperature
 Gastro intestinal symptoms are rare
 Conscious level is normal
 Fatal dose is less than 5gms
 Death may occur within 24-48 hours.
Treatment:-
 Stomach wash
 Saline purges
 Administration of anti-botulism serum
 Management of bulber and respiratory failure

 Mortality is 60-70%

Food Poisoning

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Food poisoning

The word poisoning may be used either in general or in

 Non bacterial food poisoning

E.g.: Salmonella group of organism

The bacteria multiple in the gastro intestinal tract and cause

Salmonella organisms natural reservoirs are birds, mammals,

Shigella organism is the result of contaminated water or food

 Incubation period is longer than staphylococcus and

 Chills are the initial symptoms

 Nausea, vomiting, headache

 Severe abdominal cramps.

This condition is differentiated from staphylococcus food

 Persistent, foul smelling diarrhoea

 Purgative if diarrhoea is not present

 For shigella infection sulpherguindine ampicillin

POST MORTEM APPEARANCE:

 Feature of gastroenteritis or Toxemia

 Inflamed or ulcerated mucosa

 Congestion of internal organs.

2. TOXIN TYPE FOOD POISONING:

 Contamination of food by strain og organism that produce

 Suitable strain is needed for growth og organism

 Infected food must also be kept at temperature suitable

 The infected food must be also kept for sufficient longer

 Most of the toxin type poisoning are due to staphylococci

 Symptoms develops rapidly and within one to four hours

 Treatment is mainly symptomatic and is carried out on the

Post mortem appearances:

 Similar to salmonella poisoning.

The causative agents is an anaerobic sore of forming bacillus,

This toxin is destroyed at the temperature 80*C for 30 minutes

Signs and symptoms:

 Symptoms being to manifest within 12-36 hours

 Diplopia due to ocular muscle palsy

 Difficulty in speech and swallowing

 Normal or sub normal temperature

 Gastro intestinal symptoms are rare

 Conscious level is normal

 Fatal dose is less than 5gms

 Death may occur within 24-48 hours.

 Administration of anti-botulism serum

 Management of bulber and respiratory failure

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