Food Poisoning Flashcards
What is diarrhoea
Unformed stool with no other cause such as overuse of laxatives
A stool which can hold the shape of the container
Type 5,6 and 7 on the Bristol Stool chart
What is food poisoning
An illness caused by eating food contaminated with micro-organims, toxins or poisons
What are the clinical presentation of food poisoning
Diarrhoea, abdominal pain, vomiting
How does food poisoning occur?
The wall of the tissue is invaded / a toxin is produced
What are the 3 most common bacteria causing food poisoning
Campylobacter
Salmonella
E coli 0157
What questions do we ask about potential food poisonisng
Diarrhoea, blood, how much etc. History of travel Anyone else suffering When did you ingest the food Age of the patient Underlying medical problems
How long does it take for Staph aureus/ bacillus cereus take to incubate
1-6 hours (SHORT)
What is the incubation period of salmonella / Cl perfringens
12-48 hours (MEDIUM)
What is the incubation period of campylobacter
2-14 days (LONG)
How long does it take to receive a culture result
48 hours
How is campylobacter most likely to spread
Poor food hygiene - raw poultry
Less likely to spread person to person
What is the commonest cause of salmonella enteritidis
Food hygiene
Food - poultry, meat and raw egg
What are the common presentation of salmonella
D&V, blood, fever
What is the purpose of serotyping
To trace outbreaks of different types of salmonella
What is the presenting complaint of of Ecoli
Bloody diarrhoea
How does Ecoli 0157 spread
Food: beef, raw milk, water
Person to person contact
What does E coli 0157 produce
Verotoxin
What does verotoxin do?
Bind to receptors found on renal cells, RBCs and others
Inhibit protein sythesis
Causes cell death
What are the common presentations of HUS
Abdo pain fever pallor petchiae oliguria bloody diarrhoea
What investigations do we do for HUS?
Send stool culture samples
Send U&E, FBC, film, LFT, clotting, urine, lactate dehydrogenase
What is the HPU
Health protection unit
What does the HPU do
Gives advise on return to work for high risk groups
What are 4 requirements for bacteria to multiply
time
temperature
food source
moisture
What can go wrong in the kitchen to cause food poisoning
cross contamination of raw or cooked food Preparation of food too far in advance inadequate heating and cooling Poor personal hygiene Contaminated environment and equipment