Food Poisoning News and Research

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Food poisoning is a term given to infections with bacteria, parasites, viruses, or toxins from germs that affects humans via contaminated food or water.

New diagnostic system describes symptoms using the image of patient's tongue

Physicians often ask their patients to "Please stick out your tongue". The tongue can betray signs of illness, which combined with other symptoms such as a cough, fever, presence of jaundice, headache or bowel habits, can help the physician offer a diagnosis. For people in remote areas who do not have ready access to a physician, a new diagnostic system is reported in the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology that works to combine the soft inputs of described symptoms with a digital analysis of an image of the patient's tongue.

7 Dec 2014

Cholera against cholera: an interview with Dr Bruce Turnbull, University of Leeds

Cholera bacteria, and other types of bacteria that cause diarrheal diseases, infect your intestines where they release AB5 protein toxins – that is they have a single toxic A-subunit that is linked to a pentamer of B-subunits that act as the delivery vehicle to transport the A-subunit into the cells.

8 Sep 2014

Gene therapy may offer significant advantages in prevention of botulism exposure

The current method to treat acute toxin poisoning is to inject antibodies, commonly produced in animals, to neutralize the toxin. But this method has challenges ranging from safety to difficulties in developing, producing and maintaining the anti-serums in large quantities.

30 Aug 2014

University of Liverpool researchers identify pathogens that pose greater risk to people in Europe

The pathogens posing the greatest risk to Europe based upon a proxy for impact have been identified by University of Liverpool researchers using a 'big data' approach to scientific research.

28 Aug 2014

Researchers seek ways to prevent foodborne illnesses with cinnamon

Seeking ways to prevent some of the most serious foodborne illnesses caused by pathogenic bacteria, two Washington State University scientists have found promise in an ancient but common cooking spice: cinnamon.

18 Jul 2014

Computational algorithms provide insight into how gut microbiota respond to infection over time

Being sick due to an infection can make us feel lousy. But what must the ecosystem of bacteria, or microbiota, colonizing our guts be going through when hit with infection? A study from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) has utilized unique computational models to show how infection can affect bacteria that naturally live in our intestines.

14 Jul 2014

Medicare intends to penalize hospitals for giving followup care to seniors

Medicare has announced plans to penalize 2,633 hospitals for giving followup care to seniors, even if the care was appropriate.

30 May 2014

Freiburg researchers discover molecule that smuggles toxins from intestinal pathogens into human cells

Prof. Dr. Dr. Klaus Aktories and Dr. Panagiotis Papatheodorou from the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of Freiburg have discovered the receptor responsible for smuggling the toxin of the bacterium Clostridium perfringens into the cell.

17 Apr 2014

Neuroscientists find lateral habenula of brain controls sensitivity to negative effects of drinking alcohol

As recovering spring breakers are regretting binge drinking escapades, it may be hard for them to appreciate that there is a positive side to the nausea, sleepiness, and stumbling.

3 Apr 2014

Scientists propose improved method of screening salmonella vaccines in small animal studies

An innovative vaccine technology makes use of reengineered salmonella to deliver protective immunity. If such recombinant attenuated salmonella vaccines or RASVs can be perfected, they hold the promise of safe, lost-cost, orally administered defenses against viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections.

19 Feb 2014

New online resource centre helps to create better strategies for food risks and benefits

Food scare make authorities uneasy. In previous cases, national food safety agencies have not always known how to react, making the public wary. For example, in 2011, the German health authorities incorrectly linked the deadly E. coli outbreak to cucumbers from Spanish greenhouses.

11 Feb 2014

Scientists to develop faster method for pathogen screening in food products

The regular appearance of food poisoning in the news, including a recent event that led to the recall of more than 33,000 pounds of chicken, drives home the need for better bacterial detection long before meats and produce make it to the dinner table.

30 Jan 2014

Researchers identify chemical substance to treat bacterial infections

Increasing numbers of bacteria are developing antibiotic resistance. This forms a significant challenge in the battle against bacterial infections. Alvin Lo and Han Remaut (VIB/Vrije Universiteit Brussel) have identified a chemical substance with the potential of acting as a new drug to treat bacterial infections, particularly urinary tract infections.

29 Jan 2014

Researchers discover unusually large bacteriophage that infects anthrax bacterium

From a zebra carcass on the plains of Namibia in Southern Africa, an international team of researchers has discovered a new, unusually large virus (or bacteriophage) that infects the bacterium that causes anthrax.

28 Jan 2014

Scientists to decode intestinal disease bacteria using genome sequencing technologies

The University of Liverpool is to decipher the genomes of the UK's main bacterial cause of food poisoning which results in over 21,000 hospital admissions and 100 deaths each year.

22 Jan 2014

Food safety tips for people with HIV/AIDS

December 1, 2013 is World AIDS Day and while the connection between HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) and food safety may not seem obvious, it's actually crucial.

30 Nov 2013

Researchers design surface-scanning coil detector for direct bacteria detection on food surfaces

As anyone who has ever consumed bacteria-contaminated food and experienced "food poisoning" can tell you, it's a miserable experience. Yet it's an all-too-common one, with foodborne illnesses making 1 in 6 Americans -- or 48 million people -- sick each year. Of these people sickened, 128,000 end up in the hospital, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while 3,000 die.

19 Oct 2013

Researchers develop simple blood test to identify patient with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

For the first time, a simple blood test may be the best way to determine if a patient is suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or another serious condition such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, according to Cedars-Sinai physician researcher Mark Pimentel, MD, lead author of a multicenter clinical trial.

17 Oct 2013

Researchers discover how Yersinia immobilizes immune system to spread within organs

Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts have identified how one type of bacteria, Yersinia, immobilizes the immune system in order to grow in the organs of mice. To do so, the researchers extended the use of a technique and suggest that it could be used to study other bacteria that use the same or similar means of infection.

17 Sep 2013

Domestic animals less likely to be major source of antibiotic resistant Salmonella in humans

A new study has shown that, contrary to popular belief, local domestic animals are unlikely to be the major source of antibiotic resistant Salmonella in humans. The result comes from a detailed study of DNA from more than 370 Salmonella samples collected over a 22-year period.

13 Sep 2013