Many people in different parts of the country have been, and will be, under a "boil water" notice after severe weather strikes. So what does a boil water notice mean? These advisories are often issued after a flood or when there is an issue with local water services, such as broken water mains or a sewage spill. Everyone should pay attention to these advisories and notices and follow them rigorously to protect health. Boil water notices are issued to protect the public from waterborne infectious agents that can range from parasites to E. coli and other pathogens to viruses. When a notice is issued, everyone should stop using water from the tap until a government agency says that the water is again safe to drink and use in cooking and cleaning. Heat treatments and filtration can … [Read more...]
There’s Worms in That There Meat, Trichinellosis Outbreaks From 2008-2012
Anyone looking for another good reason not to eat raw or undercooked meat should check out the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) recent report on trichinellosis, a disease caused by eating raw or undercooked meat that has round worm larvae in it. For those with limited time, here's the condensed version. Between 2008–2012, 90 cases of trichinellosis, including five outbreaks, occurred in the U.S. Most occurred in the Pacific region including 35 cases in California and six in Alaska. While California was the state with the most cases, accounting for 42 percent of all cases, Alaska had the highest mean annual incidence reporting 4.1 cases per 1 million population, 40 times the national mean of 0.1 cases per 1 million population. The case patients ranged in age from 1 … [Read more...]
Gross Food News: Tapeworms Nearly Kill Man in China
This month's edition of The Neews, our monthly feature of food stories that put the eew in news is about a man in China whose love of raw foods nearly killed him. X-rays show that the body of the man, from Guangdong Province, was riddled with tapeworm courtesy of his steady intake of raw meat. You can get a tapeworm infection from eating any kind of raw or undercooked fish, pork or beef. Infections associated with salmon have been mirroring the growth in popularity of sushi, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fish tapeworms, Diphyllobothrium latum, are the largest variety capable of reaching 30 feet in length. The worms can remain in the intestine or the larvae can penetrate the intestinal wall and travel to tissue throughout the body, as was the case for … [Read more...]
UN Makes a Top 10 List of Parasites That Cause Food Poisoning
Ever wondered which foodborne parasites cause the most illness? The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have recently compiled a Top 10 list so public health efforts can be focussed on the bugs with the greatest impact. Like foodborne bacteria, foodbrone parasites affect the health of millions of people every year. Health effects include damage muscles and organs, epilepsy, anaphylactic shock and dysentery. Some parasites can live on in our bodies for decades. Parasites can be found in meat, poultry and produce. Last year, a cyclospora outbreak linked to fresh. imported produce sickened 631 people in the U.S. But cyclospora didn't make the Top 10 list. These bugs did. Number 1, Taenia solium, or pork tapeworm, contracted by … [Read more...]
