Meat poisoning

From a microbiological point of view, meat is a good breeding ground for unwanted microorganisms, and meat poisoning is a foodborne toxic infection of microbial etiology, which is caused by a number of enteropathogenic pathogens.

Epidemiology

According to statistics, the specific pathogens causing food poisoning remain unknown in almost half of the cases.

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

The global epidemiological situation regarding food poisoning associated with salmonella is considered unfavorable. Thus, according to CDC estimates, in the US this bacterium causes about 1.2 million illnesses per year (83% food poisoning), although the number of hospitalized patients is approximately 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 EU countries doctors register almost 9 million cases of gastrointestinal tract infection caused by campylobacter.

Causes meat poisoning

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

Bacteria that colonize and infect meat and lead to the development of food poisoning include:

• coli – Escherichia coli, which remains viable even when meat is frozen and causes escherichiosis (coli infections). The strain O157:H7 is considered particularly dangerous; [ 2 ]
• Salmonella (Salmonella enterica, Salmonella typhimurium), which can cause poisoning from raw meat, especially minced meat; [ 3 ]
• Campylobacter spp., in particular Campylobacter jejuni, found in cattle, pigs, and poultry, the meat of which is used for food; causes poisoning from undercooked meat (for example, 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 ]
• spore-forming bacterium Bacillus cereus; [ 8 ]
• the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, whose spores produce botulinum toxin (in home-canned meats), which causes botulism. [ 9 ]

Insufficient heat treatment can cause poisoning from chicken meat, as well as poisoning from smoked meat (pork, beef) if it is infected with monocytogenic listeria (Listeria monocytogenes), which leads to the development of listeria 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 from stale, rotten meat.

In addition to botulism from eating canned crab, poisoning from crab meat that has not been cooked enough can be caused by halophilic pathogenic bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, which live in warm sea water and affect crustaceans and mollusks.

Read also – Causes and pathogens of food poisoning.

Risk factors

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

• during slaughter, when cleaning and cutting up carcasses is carried out in violation of sanitary rules;
• in case of violation of storage rules and permissible terms of sale of meat and poultry in supermarkets or markets;
• in case of failure to comply with the rules for processing and preparing meat (use of dirty dishes and cutting equipment, insufficient heat treatment of raw meat) both in the kitchens of public catering establishments and in the kitchen of any household.

Pathogenesis

It should be understood that the pathogenesis of food toxic infections is caused by bacterial infection of the body - the entry of pathogens into the gastrointestinal tract and the development of an infectious process due to cytotoxins and enterotoxins produced by microbes.

Microorganisms that enter the stomach have enzymes that either restructure the cytoskeleton of the epithelial cells of the mucous membrane lining the stomach and intestines (which allows bacteria to penetrate the cell), or cause bacterial adhesion with damage to the microvilli on the surface of the cells, which disrupts the relationship between absorption and secretion and leads to diarrhea.

Bacteria multiply, colonize the small and large intestines and release compounds toxic to humans – enterotoxins.

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

Symptoms meat poisoning

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

How long does it take for meat poisoning to manifest? As doctors note, the first signs, that is, clinical symptoms of poisoning associated with E. coli, appear two to three hours after eating meat; associated with salmonella - after 12-48 hours, and with campylobacter - on average after three days. Botulinum toxin of Clostridium botulinum bacteria affects the central nervous system (the first sign is diplopia)), which distinguishes the whole complex of symptoms, which can appear both after three hours and after two days. Read more in the publication - Botulism - Symptoms.

When ingested, Vibrio vulnificus bacteria cause symptoms within 24 hours of eating raw or undercooked seafood. [ 11 ]

Complications and consequences

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

Food poisoning due to E. coli can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can lead to kidney failure in people with weakened immune systems.

Local complications of food poisoning caused by campylobacter arise due to their spread from the gastrointestinal tract - as a result of bacteremia, and can manifest as cholecystitis, pancreatitis, massive gastrointestinal bleeding and even peritonitis. The mortality rate for Campylobacter infection is one in 20,000 cases.

Diagnostics meat poisoning

Detailed information about diagnostic methods and what tests help to identify pathogens of food poisoning in the materials:

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

Treatment meat poisoning

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

• Help with food poisoning
• What to do in case of food poisoning?
• Gastric lavage

How treatment is carried out is discussed in the publications:

• Treatment of food poisoning
• Symptomatic intensive care for poisoning
• Treatment of intestinal infection
• Botulism - Treatment

The main medications include sorbents, most often activated carbon; other tablets for poisoning are also allowed.

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

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; rehydrants, such as Regidron, are used to restore it.

Traditional treatment involves drinking rice broth for diarrhea. And how to carry out herbal treatment, read the article - Infusions and decoctions for diarrhea.

Prevention

To prevent meat poisoning, you must: [ 12 ]

• buy high-quality (fresh) beef, pork, chicken, etc., do not buy packaged products with expired shelf life;
• use separate cutting boards for animal products and other foods, and thoroughly wash kitchen utensils (including dishes and knives);
• cook meat and poultry properly (boil, fry or stew them for a sufficient amount of time) - so that when cut it is not red or pink, and so that bloody juice does not appear (a sign of insufficient heat treatment);
• Store cooked meat or poultry in the refrigerator.
• Do not consume canned meat or canned crab meat from bulging cans.

Forecast

For most cases of meat poisoning, the prognosis is good if treated correctly. However, in people with immunosuppression, children and the elderly, the disease may be complicated. And death from botulism can only be prevented by immediate administration of antibotulinum serum.