Over the past few weeks there have been a number of people who have come forward to talk about salmonella-related incidents, so I felt it would be prudent to inform readers about this bacteria.
Salmonella and other food borne illnesses are relatively common occurrences, especially in Canada, with an estimated four million cases each year according to the Public Health Agency.
Salmonella is a bacteria that is found naturally in the intestines of animals, reptiles and birds, and is often transmitted to us when we eat something dirty – a fact no doubt 99 per cent who read this will cringe at considering the lengths human beings go to in providing sanitary environments these days. It is not just meat people have to worry about though, because salmonella infections can be acquired through raw fruits and vegetables, unpasteurized dairy products, and even pet treats, though it is a reasonable assumption that the latter are not something being eaten, but rather handled instead.
In the most recent outbreak of salmonella infections related to contact with live baby poultry, 61 cases were reported over 74 days, from April 5 to June 17, from areas in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories, where people had purchased chicks, turkey poults and goslings for a variety of purposes.
Whether they were purchased from feed supply storefronts or from mail order catalogues does not matter, what does however, is the contamination.
Up until a few years ago, according to medical journals, there was a problem with beef and a particularly virulent strain of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), more popularly known as mad cow disease, and while its cause is significantly different from that of salmonellosis, the relation between the two is contamination.
With BSE, it was recycled bovine material that was processed and fed back to younger calves, propagating the disease, whereas salmonella is mainly a transmission of fecal matter into our diet. Basic things that everyone was taught in school, things like washing your hands before and after, or using soap, together with meat preparation guides – those instructions printed on almost every box at the grocery store – are meant to save people time, energy and headaches.
Infections like salmonella are no picnic by any means, especially not to the young or older populace, or those with already weakened immune systems. While doctors and journals the world over stress that most people who suffer contracting this illness will make a complete recovery, some do not.
Complete with headaches, chills, diarrhea, and agonizing stomach cramps, salmonella has one final caveat – Reiter’s Syndrome, a condition that can last for years of chronic pain that eventually leads to arthritis and is itself, difficult to treat.
The lesson here is to make sure everything is clean and tidy, and to ensure sanitary conditions are enforced, because the alternatives are no fun for anyone and that is a fact.
