Meat poisoning

From the point of view of microbiology, meat is a good breeding ground for undesirable microorganisms, and meat poisoning refers to food toxicoinfections of microbial etiology, which are caused by a number of enteropathogenic pathogens.

Epidemiology

According to statistics, the specific causative agents of food toxic infections remain undetermined in almost half of cases.

According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, acute intestinal infections of unidentified etiology account for almost 25% of the total number of cases; an average of 30-32 thousand cases of food poisoning are recorded annually in Ukraine; in 10 years (from 2007 to 2017), about 1,700 residents of the country suffered from botulism.

The global epidemiologic situation on food toxic infections associated with Salmonella is considered unfavorable. Thus, according to CDC estimates, in the United States this bacterium causes about 1.2 million illnesses per year (83% food poisoning), although the number of hospitalized patients is about 0.52% of all cases, and the mortality rate does not exceed 0.04%.

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), every year in the EU, health professionals record almost 9 million cases of GI campylobacter infections.

Causes of the meat poisoning

The key causes of food poisoning meat are related to infection of the body and bacteremia (presence of bacteria in the blood) of animals and poultry whose meat is used for food after slaughter, or subsequent microbial contamination of the meat. [1]

Bacteria that contaminate and infect meat and lead to the development of food toxic infections, include:

• Escherichia coli, which remains viable even when meat is frozen and provokes escherichiosis (coli-infections). The strain O157:H7 is recognized as particularly dangerous; [2]
• Salmonella (Salmonella enterica, Salmonella typhimurium), which can cause poisoning from raw meat, especially chopped meat; [3]
• Campylobacter spp., in particular Campylobacter jejuni, found in cattle, pigs and poultry whose meat is used for food; causes poisoning from undercooked meat (e.g. In cutlets or steaks); [4]
• Spore-forming bacteria of the genus Clostridium regfringens; [5]
• Shigella (Shigella spp.); [6]
• heat-resistant enterotoxin-producing staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus); [7]
• the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus cereus; [8]
• the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, whose spores produce botulinum toxin (in home-produced canned meat), which causes botulism. [9]

There may be poisoning of chicken meat with insufficient heat treatment, as well as poisoning of smoked meat (pork, beef) if it is contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria monocytogenes), which leads to the development of listeriosis food infection.

Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytococa, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas fragi, Enterobacter, Proteus, Brochothrix thermosphacta, Carnobacterium spp. And other microorganisms that cause meat spoilage are responsible for poisoning by stale, rotten meat.

In addition to botulism from eating canned crabmeat, poisoning from crabmeat that has been undercooked can be caused by the halophilic pathogenic bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, which lives in warm seawater and affects crustaceans and shellfish.

Read also - Causes and causative agents of food poisoning.

Risk factors

In most cases, the risk factors for food poisoning when consuming meat are its contamination (contamination) with the above-mentioned microorganisms:

• at slaughter, when carcasses are cleaned and cut in violation of sanitary rules;
• in case of violation of storage rules and permissible terms of meat and poultry sales in supermarkets or markets;
• in case of non-compliance with the rules of meat processing and preparation (use of dirty utensils and cutting equipment, insufficient heat treatment of raw meat) both in food processing units of public catering establishments and in the kitchen of any household.

Pathogenesis

It should be understood that the pathogenesis of food toxicoinfections is due to bacterial contamination of the body - ingestion of pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract and the development of the infectious process due to the cyto and enterotoxins produced by microbes.

Microorganisms entering the stomach have enzymes that either rearrange the cytoskeleton of the epithelial cells lining the stomach and intestine (allowing bacteria to penetrate the cell), or bacterial adhesion occurs with damage to the microvilli on the cell surface, which disrupts the ratio between absorption and secretion and leads to diarrhea.

The bacteria multiply, colonize the small and large intestine, and release compounds that are toxic to humans - enterotoxins.

In response to bacterial invasion, the level of immunoglobulins (antibodies) increases. In addition, bacterial toxins, penetrating into the bloodstream, cause the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines by T-cells. And the resulting symptoms of enteritis are the result of immune system activation. [10]

Symptoms of the meat poisoning

Symptoms of food poisoning from meat include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea (watery or with mucus and blood), chills and fever, spastic abdominal pain, muscle and joint pain, tachycardia or bradycardia. There is increased thirst and dry mouth due to fluid loss.

How long before meat poisoning manifests itself? According to medical experts, the first signs, i.e. Clinical symptoms in poisoning associated with E. Coli appear two to three hours after meat consumption; those associated with Salmonella - in 12-48 hours, and with Campylobacter - on average three days later. Clostridium botulinum bacterial botulinum toxin affects the CNS (the first sign is diplopia)), which distinguishes the whole complex of symptoms that can occur after three hours or two days. Read more at Botulism - Symptoms.

Once inside the body, the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria cause associated symptoms within a day of consuming raw or undercooked seafood. [11]

Complications and consequences

The greater the amount of meat eaten and the more aggressive the enteropathogenic agent of food poisoning, the more serious its consequences and complications may be. In addition, meat may be contaminated with several foodborne pathogens at once.

Food poisoning associated with E. Coli can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome, which in immunocompromised individuals is fraught with renal failure.

Local complications of food intoxication caused by Campylobacter occur due to their spread from the GI tract - as a result of bacteremia, and can manifest as cholecystitis, pancreatitis, massive gastrointestinal bleeding and even peritonitis. Lethality rate in Campylobacter lesions: one per 20,000 cases.

Diagnostics of the meat poisoning

Detailed information on diagnostic methods and what tests help to identify the causative agents of foodborne toxic infections in the materials:

• Diagnosis of acute poisoning
• Diagnosis of food toxic infections
• Botulism - Diagnosis

Treatment of the meat poisoning

What is the first aid for meat poisoning, read in the articles:

• Help with food poisoning
• What to do for food poisoning?
• Gastric lavage

How the treatment is carried out is discussed in the publications:

• Treatment of food poisoning
• Symptomatic intensive therapy in poisoning
• Treatment of intestinal infection
• Botulism - Treatment

The main medications include sorbents, most commonly activated charcoal; other poisoning tablets are also allowed.

In severe cases of meat poisoning, with high fever and an admixture of blood in the feces, or a longer course of the disease, antibiotics for intestinal infection are prescribed.

In mild cases, treatment is carried out at home, and the main thing is to prevent dehydration of the body, which leads to a violation of the water-electrolyte balance; to restore it, rehydrants are used, for example, Rehydron.

Folk treatment is to use rice decoction for diarrhea. And how to carry out treatment with herbs, read in the article - infusions and decoctions from diarrhea.

Prevention

To prevent meat poisoning it is necessary to: [12]

• buy quality (fresh) beef, pork, chicken, etc., do not buy prepackaged products with expired shelf life;
• Use separate cutting boards for animal products and other foods, and wash kitchen utensils (including utensils and knives) thoroughly;
• Properly cook meat and poultry (sufficient time to boil, broil or stew them) - so that it is not red or pink when cut, and so that no bloody juice (a sign of insufficient heat treatment) appears;
• Store cooked meat or poultry in the refrigerator.
• Do not consume canned meat or canned crabmeat from bloated cans.

Forecast

For most cases of meat poisoning - with proper treatment - the prognosis is favorable. However, in immunosuppressed people, children and the elderly, the disease can be complicated. A fatal outcome in botulism can only be prevented by immediate administration of an anti-botulinum serum.