FOOD POISONING

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 261, 23 July 1918, Page 7

FOOD POISONING

« SOMETHING ABOUT BOTULISM DANGERS IN DIET (By Dr. Louis Sambon in the ".Manchester Guardian.") I iiiii asked for an opinion on the outbreak of "food poisoning" which seems to be prevailing at tho present moment in soma parts of .London, i can only discuss the very extraordinary statements that liavo appeared in the .Press. In one newspaper I read the report of an interview with an "eminent physician." His eminence spoke of "Botulism," and said it was duo to "the eating of foods to which Hie human body was unaccustomed." Tho remedy he suggested was—"Cool; everything, and, above all, take time in eating the food." Then spoke tho expert of tho Local Government Board, in. true oracular fashion evading tho direct question by (lie sophistry of evasive questions. "Is it Botulism after all r" lie .snitl; and "there is no cvidenco that the disease is duo In the eating of any particular I'uotl at. all." Then "ho dismissed his interviewer with the following memorable sentence: "Keep as 'cheerful as possible, for depression 0i spirit is dangerous to the health at any Kane, and especially in these days"! Yet in asking for information on matters of health, tho Press is carrying out ono of its most useful ■ purposes, and the questions put by it should bo answered in all seriousness by thoso whoso sacred duly it is to guard tho public health. If thoro has been an unusually largo outbreak of food poisoning, which is tho food that is at fault? It is certainly not canned salmon, although very inferior brands are on tho market. As a rule, when canned salmon, lobster, or crab causes poisoning it is found that tho incriminated article was eaten some time after being turned out of the tin, therefore it, should bo clearly explained— and no ono can do it bettor than the Press-that all canned foods, particularly ash ai;;l crustaceans, though perfectly sound when first opened, are liable to become rapidly decomposed by keeping especially in warm weather. The rule is to consumo such foods iminettintely alter opening and reboiling.

Vigilance Needed in War Time,

In tbeso days of food shortage and of frenzied aduiloratiou it is more than ever necessary for tho authorities to ho vigilant, tor tho public to he en guard, l'liero are various kinds of food jjoisouing. i'liua animals used for loou may be diseased, and their meat, in certain cases, oven though cooked, may K i VB rise to infection or intoxication in the'consumer. Outbreaks of this kind are not intrequent; tne animals, usually young animals, were suffering from some" form ot gastro-intestinal disease or other injection, and the eating of their flesh and offal, especially in a raw or hardly cooked condition, is liable to produce infection'.usually of an enteric-fever tvjio watch may last several weeks and even cause death, though rarely. In somo cases the disease is brought about by a genu termed bacillus euteriditis, 'the toxins of which resist tho action of heat, and this explains poisoning by roast veal or oven boilod meat and its broth. Safety lies m proper inspection oil tho part of the health authorities, and not in "cheerfulness" on the part of tho public. Another form of food poisoning is brought about by decomposition of sound meat due to tho action of putrefactive bacteria such as the Hav bacillus, bacillus proteus, or bacilli of the colon group, lite colon bacillus, like bacillus euteriditis, produces toxins that withstand the action of heat. Carrion-eating is by no means uncommon in the human species among aavago tribes, nhd even among ourselves thera aro persons who prefer game, cheese, and other foods partly spoiled, but in such cases immunisation must have been gradually acquired. As a rule the eating of putrid meat causes disease, and tho symptoms, although varying somewhat with tho particular kind ot germ ingested, are chiefly gastrointestinal. There way bo severe headache, pains in the back and neck, even convulsions, but there is no fever, the attack is of short duration, and recovery is the rule. Chopped-up meat, sausages, and foods either badly cured or badly kept aro as it rule the cause. The necessary preventive measures are obvious. AH food showing signs of decay should bo avoided. Thorough cooking may lessen the danger in some eases, but not in all.

Botulism. The third anil last form of food poisoning is Botnlism-ii word recalling tJie chief offender, the sausage, a delicious thing long ago when it used' to he prepared ia the farmhouses of our loremothersj a vile abomination in the hands of the unscrupulous. Uotulisrn ia a grave disease resembling poisoning by the deadly nightshade. . It is due to the toxins of Bacillus botnlinus, a sporoforming germ tlmt can only thrive away from the. air, and therefore lurks '.n large, thick-skinned sausages and in carelessly prepared canned foods. Canned vegetables such as peas and beans have occasionally been the means of causing this form of intoxication, especially when used in the form of salad without previous reboiling.' The symptoms are-un-like those of other forms of food noisoniiig; they arc almost entirely referable to the central nervous system. Thee aro disturbances of vision, dryness of mouth and throat, difficulty in swallowing, _ loss of • voice, difficult breathing, obstinate constipation, greiit muscular weakness. Tho temperature is either normal or below normal; tho mind clear anil undisturbed to tho last. The whole picture is ouo of gradually developing motor paralysis. Death is brought about by asphyxia. The disease may la'st for months, and when termination is favour' able certain symptoms may persist a long time. Sausages and canned fooils should be procured from well-known firms an.l should never be eaten uncooked. Bacillus botulinus gives to infected foods a peculiar odour of rancid butter, which is characteristic. Cheese is an article of food that may also give rise to Botulism. In these days of food scarcity no doubt many diseases will be wrongiy ascribed to food poisoning. Not long ago, when our knowledge of disease-causation wa'i somewhat hazy, quite a number of maladies were put down to food of some kind or other. Even-the itch was bejieveil lo be a food disease, notwithstanding that the itch mite' had been clearly described by Aristotle more than three hundred years before Christ. One of the diseases most closely .connected nith war and famine is the typhus fever; liiijced at one time it was called 'be ''Fai-rne fever." Fortunately, .some .years brfuie the war, 1 was able to slurv th'it it is spread by vermin, and this kuowledgo has enable;! us to stamp it out. Of course, in 'vindicating tho true etiology of certain diseases wrongly ascribed lo food I ilo not in any way intend to ; minimise, the enormous importance of food either as an agent in predisposing | to disease or as a factor in the healthy resistance of the body.