Topic · Food Safety Course 101
Symptoms and Mortality
Symptoms typically begin several hours to several days after consumption and depend on the agent involved.
The symptoms can include one or more of the following:
- Nausea,
- Abdominal pain,
- Vomiting,
- Diarrhea,
- Gastroenteritis,
- Fever,
- Headache and/or fatigue.
In most cases, the body can permanently recover after a short period of acute discomfort and illness. However, foodborne illness can result in permanent health problems or even death, especially for people at high risk, including babies, young children, pregnant women (and their fetuses), older adults, sick people, and others with weak immune systems.
Foodborne illness is a significant cause of reactive arthritis, which typically occurs 1–3 weeks afterward. Similarly, people with liver disease are especially susceptible to infections from Vibrio vulnificus, which can be found in oysters or crabs. Tetrodotoxin poisoning from reef fish and other animals manifests rapidly as numbness and shortness of breath and is often fatal.
