Food infections

They are foodborne illnesses that result from the ingestion of contaminated food and/or water, which contain harmful live microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. For example: salmonellosis, viral hepatitis type A and toxoplasmosis.

Difference between infection and food poisoning

The clear difference is in the agent that causes the disease, in one it is a living organism that will multiply in the food and/or in our organism to the level of development of the symptoms and in the other it is a «poison», a chemical compound with the ability to cause us harm.

Another difference is the incubation period. In an intoxication you do not usually have a fever and you begin to suffer the consequences a few hours after consuming the contaminated food. In infections you do have a fever and it is necessary that the pathogenic agent multiplies to levels where it can cause the disease (infectious dose is called), and for this it can take several days. Or even years, as in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (that of mad cows).

The rest of the symptoms are similar: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, etc. In general, we recover well, but serious complications can arise in people with previous illnesses, pregnant women (problems for them and for the fetus), children and the elderly.

*Source TOTALFOOD