“You can get norovirus when a sick food handler contaminates your food, possibly by not washing their hands well enough after touching the virus,” O’Brien says. “Swallowing just a little norovirus can make you very sick.”
Several types of bacteria can also cause food poisoning. Some foods you buy—such as raw meat or fruits and vegetables—may already contain bacteria that you need to wash off or cook to destroy. Bacteria can also thrive in certain foods if not stored properly.
Bacteria like Staph and Bacillus cereus can make you sick quickly, within 1 to 7 hours. These bacteria produce fast-acting toxins in foods (such as meat or dairy for Staph, and starchy foods like rice for B. cereus). Keeping such foods refrigerated at 40 °F or colder helps slow or stop the growth of these bacteria.
Other bacteria, such as Salmonella and Campylobacter, don’t make you sick until they get in your body and multiply. With these microbes, it can take 12 hours or a few days for you to feel ill. “Symptoms can include fever, cramps, and sometimes bloody diarrhea,” says O’Brien.
When you have a foodborne illness, you usually need to drink plenty of fluids. “But see a doctor if you have blood in your stool,” O’Brien advises. “And if a child seems to have food poisoning, you should have the child seen by a doctor.”
Summer & Food Poisoning: What You Need To Know was originally published on blackdoctor.org
