Five Surprising Long-term Effects of Food Poisoning
In the United States, about 1,000 foodborne illness outbreaks happen every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These outbreaks, caused by food tainted with pathogens such as E.coli, Salmonella, Listeria or Campylobacter, sicken 48 million people -about one sixth of the population, every year. Some of these people, roughly 128,000 of them, will become so sick they require hospitalization. Though most of those hospitalized will recover from the foodborne illness, some will face long-term health problems including:
Kidney Failure
Most common in children, hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) is a serious condition that can develop when toxins from an E. coli infection destroy red blood cells, causing kidney injury.
Chronic arthritis
Reactive arthritis can develop after a Campylobacter infection. In some cases, people who contract a Shigella or Salmonella infection develop reactive arthritis experiencing joint pain, painful urination and irritated eyes, for months or even years leading to chronic arthritis.
Brain damage
Listeria and Salmonella infections can lead to meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain. For newborns, long-term consequences can include mental retardation, seizures, paralysis, blindness, or deafness.
Nerve damage
Roughly 40 percent of all U.S.cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a nerve disorder that can cause temporary or long-term paralysis, are triggered by an infection with Campylobacter.
Death
Every year, 3,000 Americans die of illnesses associated with food poisoning. Almost 90 percent of those fatalities are caused by just five pathogens: Salmonella, Toxoplasma, Listeria, norovirus, and Campylobacter.
