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Selected Types of Bacterial Foodborne Illness
Illness	Bacterial Agent	Symptoms	Characteritics of Illness	Preventative Measures
Salmonellosis	Salmonella, a widespread bacteria that lives and grows in intestinal tracts of humans and animals.	Severe headache followed by vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever. Severe infections may cause high fever and even death.	Transmitted by eating contaminated foods, such as poultry, red meats, eggs, dried foods, and dairy products, or by contact with infected persons or carriers (rats, insects, or pets).	Heat food to 140 deg. F. (60 deg. C.) for 10 minutes or more, or to 155 degrees F. (68 deg. C) for 3 seconds. Refrigeration, freezing, and drying inhibits growth, but does not kill Salmonellae.
Staphylococcal or staph poisoning	Staphylococcus aureus,a fairly heat-resistant bacteria that produces a toxin extremely resistant to heat.	Vomiting, diarrhea, prostration, and abdominal cramps. Generally mild and attributed to other causes.	Transmitted by food handlers who carry the bacteria, and by eating contaminated foods, such as custards, salads (egg, potato, chicken, macaroni), ham, salami, and cheese.	Keep hot foods above 140 deg. F. (60 deg. C.) and cold foods below 40 deg. F. (4 deg. C.) to inhibit growth. Toxin is destroyed by boiling for several hours or by heating foods in a pressure cooker at 240 deg. F (116 deg. C.) for 30 minutes.
Perfringens poisoning	Clostridium Perfringens a spore-forming bacteria that grows in the absence of oxygen. Cooking temperatures kill vegetative cells but not heat-resistant spores.	Nausea without vomiting, acute inflammation of stomach and intestines.	Transmitted by eating foods, such as stews, soups, or gravies, made from poultry or red meat that have abnormally high numbers of the bacteria. Onset: 8-24 hours Duration: 1 day	Cool foods rapidly by refrigerating promptly at 40 deg. F. (4 deg. C.) or below to keep foods hot at 140 deg. F. (60 deg. C.) or above.
Botulism	Clostridium botulinum, a spore-forming organism that produces toxin in the absence of oxygen.	Double vision, inability to swallow, speech difficulty', and progressive respiratory paralysis. Fatality rate is 65% in the United States.	Transmitted by eating foods containing toxin, such as canned low-acid foods and smoked fish. Onset: 12-36 hours or more Duration: 3-6 days	Spores destroyed only by high temperatures obtained in pressure canners. Spores can survive more than 6 hours at boiling temperatures. Toxin is destroyed by boiling 10-20 minutes, depending on type of food.