Basic Problem Of E.coli: Recently, I have had many requests for my opinion on what is going on with the E.coli getting into our food chain, like in the outbreak with the romaine lettuce in Arizona recently.
First of all, this happens more than we realize; however, it is not considered an outbreak by the CDC until “two or more people get the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink.”
The CDC now stands for the Centers for Disease Control, but it was initially the Communicable Disease Center when it started in July of 1942. At that time, their biggest fight was against mosquitos and the diseases that they carried.
Today, one of the CDC’s most significant battles is watching over our food chain and, most recently, addressing the recent problems of E.coli.
E.coli is a large, diverse group of bacteria. While most strains are harmless, a few can make people ill with severe diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is a type of kidney failure that can sometimes lead to death.
The most dangerous strain of E.coli is called “Shiga toxin-producing E.coli” or STEC. (Basic Problem Of E.coli)
Contact
So how does it get into our food? E.coli is usually transmitted when an animal that is carrying the bacteria comes in contact with our food through either urine or feces.
It can find its way into the supply chain through different channels; however, here are two examples:
1) E.coli found in cattle can be transferred to our meat through dried manure that is on the hide of the cow cross-contaminating during the butchering process.
2) The water source that irrigates our crops could be contaminated. In 2011, deer feces were found to be the source of an E.coli outbreak in strawberry fields in Oregon. In that case, one person died, and 14 others got sick.
Who gets infected with STEC?
People of any age can become infected, but those with the highest risk are
- Children younger than 5 years
- Adults older than 65
- People with weakened immune systems
Some practical prevention techniques:
- Keep raw meat refrigerated or frozen
- Wash hands with liquid soap and warm water before and after preparing foods
- Wash hands thoroughly after using the toilet or changing a baby’s diapers
- Drink water from a safe source
An estimated 265,000 STEC infections occur in the United States every year, resulting in 3,600 hospitalizations and 30 deaths each year. *CDC September 2016
The symptoms of STEC infection include:
- Abdominal cramps within one week of being exposed to the bacteria
- Vomiting
- For more information, please check out: www.cdc.gov/ecoli
Finally, I believe that people at home and work do not wash their hands enough. In a couple of weeks, I will have more information about a commercial hand soap dispenser that will alert management when it Is getting low on soap as well as give a daily count of how many times a day it is used. This process will be all done via the web, and the information will be stored in “the cloud.”
Stay safe, and again wash your hands as you sing “happy birthday” to yourself!
If I can help with either a cleaning problem or a sales consultation, you can feel free to contact me.
Thanks for reading (Basic Problem Of E.coli); please share if you liked it.