BEWARE OF FOOD BORNE DISEASES THIS YULETIDE SEASON

The yuletide season is here again, let's eat! But let's eat safely. Don't let food borne illness, sometimes known as "food poisoning," ruin your festive/holiday plans. Whether you're in your kitchen or helping friends or family in theirs, follow the four simple steps to food safety—CLEAN, SEPARATE, COOK, and CHILL.

Always wash your hands and surfaces often, don't CROSS-CONTAMINATE, cook to the right temperature, and refrigerate promptly, when needful.

Bacteria that cause illness can survive on your hands, utensils, and cutting boards even after you've cleaned your hands and surfaces thoroughly. Raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs can still spread bacteria to ready-to-eat foods. Bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply the quickest in the "Danger Zone" between 4°C (40°F) and 60°C(140°F). Bacteria can grow in perishable foods within 2 hours unless the foods are refrigerated properly.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT FOOD POISONING?
The first thing to do once you suspect any food you've eaten is to see your doctor . Especially if you have:

a.)  HIGH FEVER (temperature over 38°C (101.5°F) measured orally thermometer). 

b.)  Blood in stool 

c.)  Prolonged vomiting that prevents keeping liquids down (which can lead to dehydration) 

d.)  Signs of dehydration, including a decrease in urination, a dry mouth and throat, and feeling dizzy when standing up. 

e.)  Diarrheal illnesses that lasts more than 3 days

Do not be surprised if your doctor does not prescribe an antibiotic.  Many diarrheal illnesses are caused by viruses and will improve in 2 or 3 days without antibiotic therapy. In fact, antibiotics have no effect on viruses, and using an antibiotic to treat a viral infection could cause more harm than good.

It is often not necessary to take an antibiotic even in the case of a mild bacterial infection. Other treatments can also help the symptoms. Careful hand washing has proven very useful and can prevent the spread of infection to other people.

Please note that overuse of antibiotics is the principal reason many bacteria are becoming resistant.  Resistant bacteria are no longer killed by the antibiotic administered. This means that it is important to use antibiotics only when they are really needed.  Partial treatment with antibiotics can also cause bacteria to become resistant. If an antibiotic is prescribed, it is important to take all of the medication as prescribed, and not stop early just because the symptoms seem to be improving.

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE AND FOOD SAFETYWhile many foodborne infections are mild and do not require much treatment, antibiotics can be lifesaving in severe cases. Antibiotic-resistance compromises our ability to treat these infections and it results to a very serious threat to public health.

Salmonella, E. Coli, Campylobacter and Vibro cholerae  are some of the many bacteria commonly transmitted through food and water. They are known to cause huge lot of antibiotic-resistant strains of infections each year.

This post  tends to provide an overview of antibiotic resistance, how it connects to food wholesomeness / safety, and what you can do to protect yourself and others from foodborne illness.

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE:  Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs used in human medicine. Science have revealed that antibiotic resistance is spread through the resistant strains of bacteria from person to person, or from the natural environment, including the foods we eat. The germs that contaminate food can be resistant because of the indiscriminate use/abuse of antibiotics in people and in food animals.

Antibiotics are powerful tools for fighting illnesses and diseases, but overuse / abuse has helped create bacteria that are outliving the drugs  that are used to treat them.

Antibiotic resistance is the ability of microbes to resist the effects of drugs. That means germs are not killed and their growth is not stopped.

The use of antibiotics is the single most important factor leading to antibiotic resistance around the world. Resistant bacteria are more common in settings where antibiotics are frequently used: healthcare settings, the community, family settings and of course  food animal production.  

Efforts to prevent resistant infections includes immunization, infection control, ANTIBIOTIC STEWARDSHIP (meaning good antibiotic prescribing practices), reducing spread from one person to another, and protecting the food supply.

VULNERABILITY:

Let me ask this question: WHO CAN BECOME INFECTED WITH ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT STRAIN OF BACTERIA? 

ANS: ANYONE! 

YES! Anyone can become infected with antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria. It is mind-blowing that despite the scientifically developed nature of the United States of America, it is on record that at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die annually as a direct result of these infections.

Although some people are at greater risk than others, no one can completely avoid the risk of antibiotic-resistant infections. Infections with resistant organisms can be difficult to treat, requiring costly and sometimes toxic alternatives. Some resistant infections cause severe illness and may result in increased recovery time, increased medical expenses, or even death.

EHSadvisor's TIPS:

1.) Take antibiotics only when needed.

2.)  Do understand the importance and seriousness of antibiotic-resistant infections linkS to contaminated food.

3.)  Young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are known to be most at risk for infection.

EHSadvisor ADVICE: WE ADVICE THAT YOU FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE FOOD WHOLESOMENSS/ SAFETY TIPS:

1.)  PROPERLY WASH/CLEAN your hands and all surfaces, especially kitchen sink and cabinet surfaces, often. Note that germs can survive in many places around your kitchen, including on your hands, utensils, cutting boards and rodents in some cases. You must wash your hands properly with soap after contact with animals, (be it dead or alive)  or animal environments. 

2.)Never share your kitchen with rodents (rats/mice). Similarly, you must keep pets (eg dogs, cats, fowls etc)  far away from your kitchen and food store. 

3.) SEPARATE FRESH FOODS FROM RAW FOOD: It is seriously advised you be very careful so you don't cross-contaminate. Even after you've cleaned your hands and surfaces thoroughly, raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs can still spread germs to produce and ready-to-eat foods—unless you keep them separate. 

4.)  PROPERLY COOK ALL RAW FOODS: Be very sure to cook your food properly and to the right temperature. While many people think they can tell when food is "done" simply by checking its color and texture, there's no way to be sure it's safe without following a few important, but simple steps. Use a food thermometer to ensure that foods are cooked to a safe internal temperature: 62°C (145°F) for whole meats (allowing the meat to rest for 3 minutes before carving or consuming), 71°C (160°F) for ground meats, and 73° (165°F) for all poultry. Keep your refrigerator below 3°C (40°F) and refrigerate foods properly. Germs can grow in many foods within 2 hours unless you refrigerate them. However, during dry hot seasons, you may decide to cut that time down to 1 hour.

5.)  Report suspected outbreak of illness from food (food poisoning) to your closest health facility, the medical officer of Health in the LGA, the Ministry of Health's DISEASE SURVEILLANCE : state/federal etc.

6.) Make sure you DON'T prepare food for others if you have open sore on your hands or indeed any part of your body; Or if you have diarrhea, vomiting, persistent deep cough and long fingernails among others. Be especially very careful when preparing food for children, pregnant women, those in poor health, and older adults.

7.) Always use pallets to place your raw food in the food store. DONT PLACE YOUR RAW FOOD ON THE BARE GROUND OR FLOOR. 

MAKE SURE THE FLOOR IS SOLIDLY CEMENTED WITH CONCRETE AND CEMENT MORTER AND SEAL UP ALL CREVICES, HOLES ETC. .

8.) The food Store temperature must never go above 25°C. 

9.) It's not advisable to place your fridge/deep freezers in the food store except there is a corresponding air conditioning system in place. This has become imperative  because of the heat from the fridge(s) / freezer(s) would heat up the food store's temperature above the normal room temperature of 25°C, and it could cause raw FOOD SPOILAGE.