About Hygiene, Ireland

Food Safety News

Viewing posts tagged Bacteria Information

Cryptosporidium

What is Cryptosporidiosis?

Cryptosporidiosis is a diarrhoeal disease caused by a microscopic parasite (Cryptosporidium). Once an animal or person is infected, the parasite lives in the intestine and passes in the stool. The parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive outside the body for long periods of time and makes it very resistant to chlorine-based disinfectants. It can survive temperatures greater than 70oC. It is found (particularly in water) through the world.

Camplyobacter

What is campylobacteriosis?

Campylobacteriosis is the commonest form of bacterial gastroenteritis in Ireland. It is caused by a bacterium known as Campylobacter. The illness is casued by the bacterium swallowed (generally through contamination of food or water). Most human illness is caused by one species, called Campylobacter jejuni, but 1% of human campylobacteriosis cases are caused by other species. Campylobacter jejuni grows best at the body temperature of a bird, and seems to be well adapted to birds, which carry it without becoming ill. Campylobacter bacteria are delicate; they cannot tolerate drying and can be killed by oxygen. Freezing reduces the number of Campylobacter bacteria present on raw meat and unlike bacteria such as SalmonellaCampylobacter does not multiply in food. 

Botulism

What is botulism?

Botulism is caused by a botulinum toxin, which is a poison produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The bacterium is commonly found in the soil in the form of spores.

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