Food and Water Contamination
什麼是Food and Water Contamination
Food-borne and water-borne contamination (often called food poisoning) generally refers to food or waterborne diseases and infections that are the result of consuming contaminated food or water. A large number of bacteria, viruses, chemicals and toxins can contaminate food, food products and water resulting in mild to serious illness.
您如何獲得Food and Water Contamination？
Consuming food or water that is contaminated with infectious germs, chemicals, or toxins causes food poisoning. Bacteria cause approximately 80 percent of food poisoning cases. Noroviruses are among the most common viruses that cause food poisoning. One of the most frequent sources of food poisoning is food purchased from street vendors.
易感性和抵抗力
All persons are susceptible to food or water borne contamination, although persons who are repeatedly exposed to certain germs may develop some tolerance. If the cause is an infectious germ, people may still be infectious and spread the illness to others even after their illness has subsided.
有哪些症狀？
Symptoms are highly variable and can range from very mild discomfort to serious life-threatening illness depending on the type of contamination in the food. Frequent and common symptoms include the rapid onset of fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea, with or without mild to severe fever. Symptoms may be resolved after about 24 hours, or may be longer lasting and severe. Episodes of illness may repeat over a period of time. Some food-borne toxins, e.g., botulism, result in life-threatening paralysis and require aggressive treatment.
Sometimes the cause of the symptoms is suggested by the incubation time between consuming the contaminated food or water and the onset of symptoms. For some common causes of food poisoning, the Control of Communicable Diseases Manual, 19th edition, 2008, includes the following information on the range of incubation periods:
- for staphylococcal bacterial infection: 30 minutes to 8 hrs (usually 2-4 hrs)
- for Bacillus cereus bacterial infection: 30 minutes to 24 hrs
- for Clostridium perfringens bacterial infection: 6-24 hrs (usually 10-12 hrs)
- for shellfish poisoning: within 12 hours for 4 types of shellfish poisoning
- for scombroid fish poisoning: - a few hours (resolving spontaneously within 12 hours)
- for ciguatera (fish) poisoning: - within 24 hrs
- for puffer fish poisoning, which has a 60 percent fatality rate: - a few hours
預防措施
防止食物或水污染取決於食物製備中的清潔度，生熟食物的分離，徹底烹飪，在適當溫度下存儲熟食以及使用安全的水和生食成分。個人防護措施包括：-僅光顧信譽良好和有執照的餐廳；避免非法販賣小販和街頭小販-僅食用徹底煮熟的食物-避免食用生海鮮；在自助餐時選擇冷菜，包括生魚片，壽司和生牡蠣時要小心-只能喝白開水或瓶裝水，除非您可以確保正確處理水源以消除污染物。如果飲用瓶裝水，請務必在飲用前確保瓶蓋和密封墊完好無損。 -進食前和如廁後務必洗手。
治療
Treatment depends on the type of contamination and may include pain relief, antibiotics, rehydration (orally or intravenously), use of special anti-toxins, or even artificial respiration in the event of respiratory failure. If the condition persists, identification of the causative agent may be required in order to prescribe a definitive treatment. Serious illness or persistent, severe, or bloody diarrhoea, however, should be investigated at once to determine the cause and the specific treatment required.
驗證
通常在哪裡發生？
食品或水污染（腸胃炎）是發達國家和發展中國家在世界任何地方常見的疾病。高風險目的地包括拉丁美洲、非洲、中東和亞洲的一些發展中國家。
