Hygiene and food prep

[Caryl]

It is that time of year people. We are getting a number of campylobacter cases (I work for a doctor) as people do not store or handle their food correctly in the hot weather. It is a nasty disease and extremely painful!!!

KEEP THAT FOOD CHILLED (especially chicken).

Good hygiene is important as campylobacter is contagious!

Studies have found that New Zealand has the highest rates of campylobacter food poisoning in the developed world – three times higher than England and Wales and 10 times higher than the US. Some 75,000 New Zealanders contract the illness every year and around 500 require hospital treatment.

Risk factors include:

•Undercooked chicken or meat – especially fried or barbecued chicken. Up to 60% of raw chicken in supermarkets has been found to be contaminated with campylobacter

•Foods that have been infected by campylobacter – for example poorly stored chicken may have touched other foods on workbenches

•Contaminated shellfish

•Contaminated water

•Unpasturised milk

•Drinking from outdoor streams and rivers

•Direct contact with infected farm animals and pets

•Adults can contract the illness from their children – for example during nappy changing, though this is relatively uncommon

•Campylobacter bacteria can also be found in household pets such as dogs and cats

Complications from campylobacter include hepatitis, pancreatitis and miscarriage. Serious, but rare, complications of campylobacter include a form of arthritis and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which is a nervous system disorder.

In 2005, two people in New Zealand died from campylobacter.

[LYNDYLOO]

My younger sister contracted Guillain-Barre Syndrome at the beginning of last year, it is the most debilitating diease I have ever seen

After spending several months in hospital, and months and months of physio, teaching her body how to function again, was very very sad to see such a healthy young girl go through so much.

Thankfully she has since made an almost full recovery.