Chicken Food Poisoning

You just tuck into a delicious bite of chicken sandwich and within a few hours, you started having headaches and stomach cramps so severe that you eventually had to spend rest of your day camped inside the loo. If you wondering what has happened to you, then let me tell you that you have been infected with chicken food poisoning.

Food poisoning occurs from consuming foods that contain germs like bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins or other poisonous substances. There are nearly 250 different foodborne diseases, of which most of them are infections caused by microbes or pathogens that are foodborne. Edible animal products, raw foods, and unwashed vegetables, all can contain germs or pathogens that cause food poisoning. Foods from animals, like meat, poultry (such as chicken), eggs, milk, and shellfish (such as shrimp) are the most potential source of food poisoning. Food poisoning is common and can be a life-threatening problem. Most of these foodborne diseases are caused by bacteria like Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, and botulism. Of these, campylobacter and salmonella are two types of bacteria, commonly found in raw chicken, red meat, pasteurized milk and untreated water. These bacteria dwell in the intestinal tracts of livestock, poultry, and other warm-blooded animals, hence, are considered be the most dominant causes of chicken food or poultry food poisoning in human beings.

Symptoms

Campylobacter is a bacterial pathogen that lives in the intestines of healthy birds, and is the most common cause of diarrhoeal illness or bacterial food poisoning in the world. Raw/uncooked chicken or other food products that have been contaminated with the juices dripping from raw chicken are the most prominent sources of this bacteria. Likewise, salmonella is another bacterium which is widespread in the intestines of birds, reptiles and mammals and can cause food poisoning in humans through a variety of different foods of animal origin. People with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems are more prone to get infected with these bacteria, that invade the blood stream and cause life-threatening infections. Some of the raw/uncooked chicken food poisoning signs are fever, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, upset stomach, vomiting, etc.

Treatment

Besides the aforementioned symptoms, if you are suffering from high fever, prolonged vomiting, blood in stools, or have a strong feeling that you have been exposed to an infection especially after eating something, immediately consult your doctor. The doctor may conduct some laboratory tests by taking sample of your stool to identify the bacteria. But if you are wondering how long this poisoning lasts, then it primarily depends upon the severity of the condition. Like if the infection is mild, you are most likely to recover in 2 - 5 days without treatment but if it is serious, you may be given certain antibiotics to kill the bacteria.

Prevention

There are a number of simple ways to prevent chicken food poisoning due to campylobacter and other types of bacteria, like maintaining hygiene by washing your hands properly before and after handling the food. Always eating cooked food, especially poultry, as it kills the bacteria present in the chicken. Avoid eating leftovers, else heat them properly before consuming to destroy the bacteria that grew while the food was in the fridge. While purchasing raw chicken, do check the 'expiry' and 'sell by' dates and don't buy food items that have 'sell by' date after the 'expiry' date.

In mild cases of food poisoning, patients usually feel no symptoms for a very long time and eventually feel fine again. But sometimes the symptoms show up within a few hours of eating the contaminated food. Such cases should not be taken lightly, as if not well treated in time, it can cause severe dehydration and bloody diarrhea which can even lead to patient's death.