The Spring Festival is a high incidence period of "food poisoning", so be sure to pay attention!

The custom of celebrating the Spring Festival in northern China is to prepare a lot of food before the festival and eat it for many days after the festival.

Although many families have refrigerators nowadays, there are still many processed or semi-processed foods left outside the refrigerator, which cause them to mold, making festivals a high-incidence period for food poisoning.

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What is "food poisoning"?

Food poisoning is medically known as "foodborne illness," which is a gastrointestinal infection or irritation caused by food or drinks that contain harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, or chemicals. Everyone can get foodborne illness, but infants and children, pregnant women and their fetuses, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are more susceptible.

Most foodborne illnesses are acute, meaning they occur suddenly and last a short time. Most cases resolve on their own without treatment, but a few can lead to serious complications. About 48 million people in the United States get sick from foodborne illnesses each year, and about 3,000 die.

Most foodborne illnesses are caused by harmful bacteria and viruses, but parasites and chemical toxins can also cause foodborne illnesses.

Common bacteria that can cause foodborne illness include:

Salmonella, mainly in undercooked meat, dairy products, seafood and eggs;

Campylobacter jejuni, commonly found in chicken and unpasteurized milk;

Shigella, a bacterium that spreads from person to person, is present in the feces of infected people, and water contaminated by the feces of infected people can also contaminate agricultural products in the fields;

E. coli, which includes several different strains, only a few of which cause illness in humans, such as E. coli O157:H7, which causes the most severe illness;

Listeria, commonly found in undercooked meat and unpasteurized milk and cheese;

Vibrio, commonly found in fish or shellfish;

Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium botulinum are found in anaerobic environments such as canned and sealed preserved foods.

Common foodborne viruses include norovirus and hepatitis A virus, which are mainly found in the feces or vomit of infected people.

Bacteria are the most common cause of foodborne illness. Bacteria can contaminate food at any stage of the growth, harvesting or slaughtering, processing, storage and transportation process, posing a potential health hazard. Food can also be contaminated by bacteria when it is prepared in restaurants or home kitchens.

The temperature range for bacterial growth is between 4 and 60 degrees, so cold food should be kept below 4 degrees and hot food should be kept above 60 degrees. Bacteria grow more slowly at low temperatures, but they are not easy to die. When the food returns to room temperature, the bacteria in refrigerated or frozen food will become active again. Killing bacteria still depends on cooking the food thoroughly.

Parasites are another major category of foodborne disease pathogens that need to be paid special attention to. China was once a country with a high incidence of parasite infections. Parasites that are easily found in food include Cryptosporidium and Giardia intestinalis, which are transmitted through water contaminated by the feces of infected people or animals. There is also a parasite called Trichinella spiralis, which is mainly transmitted through undercooked pork or game.

Harmful chemical toxins mainly come from certain types of wild mushrooms, unwashed fruits and vegetables that contain high concentrations of pesticides, and some fish or shellfish, which may contain toxins in their bodies because they feed on certain algae that produce toxins.

What are the symptoms of "food poisoning"?

Common symptoms of foodborne illness include vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever and chills. Symptoms can range from mild to severe and can last from a few hours to a few days.

Foodborne illness can also lead to dehydration, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and other complications, and may also cause chronic or long-term health problems.

The only treatment needed for most foodborne illnesses is to replace lost fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration. Severe dehydration, if not treated promptly, can lead to serious health problems, including organ damage, shock, or coma. Infants, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to dehydration.

Signs of dehydration include excessive thirst, dark urine, lethargy, and dizziness. Symptoms of dehydration in infants and young children also include no tears when crying, high fever, irritability or drowsiness, sunken eyes or face, and decreased skin elasticity. Severe dehydration requires fluids and hospitalization.

Before going to the hospital, patients or their families need to take steps to relieve symptoms of foodborne illness and prevent dehydration, including drinking as much fluid as possible, including juice, sports drinks, decaffeinated soft drinks and soups to replenish the body's lost water and electrolytes; if vomiting continues, sip small amounts of water or ice cubes.

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In what cases

Do patients with food poisoning need to seek medical attention immediately?

Patients who develop any of the following symptoms should seek medical attention immediately: signs of dehydration; prolonged vomiting; diarrhea for more than 2 days in adults or more than 24 hours in children; severe pain in the abdomen or anus; fever above 38.5 degrees; bloody or purulent stools; black and tarry stools; neurological symptoms; signs of hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Your doctor will base your diagnosis on your symptoms, diet, and medical history, and will do a physical examination and tests if necessary to confirm the cause.

Diagnostic tests for foodborne illness include a stool culture and, if there is vomitus or a sample of suspected food, testing to determine the type of infection. The doctor may also order other tests to rule out other conditions that can cause symptoms similar to those of foodborne illness. If symptoms are mild and only last a short time, the doctor may not need to do these diagnostic tests.

In addition to replacing lost fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration, there are some targeted medication options for treating foodborne illness: Over-the-counter medications such as loperamide and bismuth subsalicylate may help relieve diarrhea in adults.

However, it is not recommended for patients and their families to take medications on their own because it is difficult for patients and their families to judge the indications of these drugs. For example, patients with bloody diarrhea (a sign of bacterial or parasitic infection) should not use these drugs - if the diarrhea is caused by bacteria or parasites, such over-the-counter drugs may prolong the course of the disease.

In addition, drugs used to treat diarrhea in adults are dangerous for infants and children and should only be used under the guidance of a doctor. Hospitalization may be necessary for life-threatening complications, such as confusion, severe dehydration, and hemolytic uremic syndrome.

During the recovery period of foodborne illness, you can gradually resume a normal diet, starting with easily digestible foods such as rice, potatoes, bread, cereal, lean meat, apples and bananas. Avoid high-fat foods, sugary foods, dairy products, caffeine and alcohol until you fully recover.

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Dr. Li Changqing, a gastroenterologist living in the United States

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director and Researcher of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association