Fundamental Food Microbiology, Third Edition - Fuad Fathir

378 FUNDAMENTAL FOOD MICROBIOLOGY
can shed the cells in feces for a long time. The main symptoms are enteric and
include abdominal cramps, profuse diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Other symptoms
include fever, headache, and chills. In some cases, bloody diarrhea has been reported.
An individual can have a relapse of symptoms after a short interval. 29,30
F. Food Association
Because the organism is present in high frequency in animals, birds, and the environment,
many foods, both from plant and animal sources, can be contaminated with
Cam. jejuni. The foods can be contaminated directly with fecal material from animals
and infected humans or indirectly from sewage and contaminated water. Cam. jejuni
has been isolated at a very high frequency from raw meats (beef, lamb, pork, chicken,
and turkey), milk, eggs, vegetables, mushrooms, and clams. In heat-processed food,
their presence has been related to cross-contamination following heat treatment or
to improper heating. The use of animal feces as fertilizers was found to contaminate
vegetables. Outbreaks of campylobacteriosis result from the consumption of raw
milk, improperly cooked chicken, dairy products, bakery products, turkey products,
Chinese food, eggs, and others. Consumption of raw milk and chicken were implicated
in many outbreaks. Although the organism is a poor competitor against other
microorganisms present in a food and generally does not grow well in foods, enough
cells can survive in a contaminated food to provide the dose required for the
disease. 29,30
G. Prevention
It is rather difficult to control the access of Cam. jejuni to raw foods, particularly
foods of animal origin. However, proper sanitation can be used to reduce its load
in raw foods during production, processing, and future handling. Preventing consumption
of raw foods of animal origin, heat-treatment of a food, when possible,
and preventing postheat contamination are important to control campylobacteriosis
in foods of animal origin. Contamination of vegetables can be controlled by not
using animal feces as fertilizer and not using contaminated water to wash vegetables
(especially ready-to-eat types). Contamination from humans can be reduced by
establishing good personal hygiene and not allowing sick individuals to handle foods,
especially ready-to-eat foods. 29,30
A. Importance
VII. YERSINIOSIS BY YERSINIA ENTEROCOLITICA
Foodborne yersiniosis was first confirmed in the U.S. in 1976 following an
outbreak among a large number of school children from the consumption of
chocolate milk contaminated with Yersinia enterocolitica. In many other countries,
foodborne yersiniosis was recorded earlier. In Denmark, yersiniosis is one
of the most common forms of gastroenteritis. Following the first outbreak in the