There is egg sauce in the sandwich, or ice in a drink: foods that are only apparently harmless but which can turn out to be insidious. Especially abroad, in countries where general hygienic conditions are poorer, and where the food poisoning they are more frequent. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that in recent years over 70% of travelers from these countries have experienced different health problems during their stay or on their return home. The countries most at risk are those of Central Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South America.
Dead child in Sharm, Andrea Mirabile was 6 years old: food poisoning was fatal, dad was serious. His mother: “Let us go back to Palermo”
Bacteria
Salmonella, but also Campylobacter and Escherichia coli: today there are more than 250 food poisoning infections in the world, which manifest themselves with different symptoms and are caused by different pathogens, mostly bacteria, viruses and parasites.
Symptoms
Symptoms typically include nausea, vomiting, violent abdominal cramps, and diarrhea, sometimes with fever. Manifestations that can be confused with those of some parainfluenza forms, favored in this period by continuous temperature changes.
The traveler’s gastroenteritis
Among them, the major cause of malaise is a form of food-borne gastroenteritis commonly known as “traveler’s diarrhea”. The syndrome manifests itself in the first days of the trip or stay with variable duration and intensity depending on the specific resistance of the subjects, the length of the period, as well as the destination. The latency period of the disease is short, usually within 72 hours and manifests itself with abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, accompanied by general malaise and, sometimes, fever.
The foods most at risk
Food contamination, especially in summer, can occur in many ways. Some microorganisms are present in the intestines of healthy animals and come into contact with their meat (and are then transmitted to those who eat them) during slaughter. Fruits and vegetables can become contaminated if washed or irrigated with water contaminated with animal or human feces. While salmonella can contaminate eggs after infecting the ovarian system of hens. Vibrio bacteria, normally present in waters, are filtered and concentrated by seafood, such as oysters and mussels, and therefore can cause infections if food is ingested raw. Infections can also be transmitted to food by operators, during the handling and preparation of food (this is the case of the Shigella bacterium, the hepatitis A virus, and many other pathogens), both by contact with the hands and with kitchen tools, used for example in the preparation of various foods and not properly disinfected. A cooked and therefore safe food (most microorganisms cannot withstand temperatures above 60-70 degrees) can become contaminated by contact with raw food. Furthermore, the conditions in which foods are kept during the various stages of conservation are of great importance: the cold chain, for example, prevents the development and multiplication of some microorganisms, which need a very large population to be toxic.
The foods to avoid and the rules to follow
While it is true that bacteria and food toxins are more common in the summer months, there is no need to panic anyway. Because it is enough to follow a few simple rules to drastically reduce the risk of infections.
Do not drink tap water, always drink mineral water from sealed bottles. If in doubt that the water in the services may be contaminated, use the mineral water also to brush your teeth;
Drink soft drinks from sealed bottles and do not use ice cubes;
Only drink packaged milk (pasteurized and long-life); alternatively, boil it beforehand;
Avoid raw vegetables, meats, seafood, egg products, raw or lightly cooked, fruit served already peeled or cut;
Avoid food preparations, even cooked, but served at room temperature; elaborate, manipulated (meat and vegetable salads, pates, appetizers, pies with creams);
Avoid bulk foods such as ice creams, drinks, sweets and foods of unknown composition, especially if sold by street vendors.
Safe food
On the other hand, cooked foods served as meats, fruit peeled personally, coffee, tea, beer, wine and alcoholic beverages in general can be considered safe. In any case, returning from a trip to an “at risk” area, it is advisable to carry out microbiological and parasitological analyzes, as microorganisms can colonize the human intestine without causing specific symptoms, but still making the “carrier” able to contaminate other people.