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listeriosis

How do you know if you have listeriosis?

How do you know if you have listeriosis?

The symptoms can take a few days or even weeks to appear and may include fever, chills, muscle aches, diarrhea or upset stomach, headache, stiff neck, confusion, and loss of balance. In more serious cases, listeriosis could also lead to the mother’s death.

listeriosis

Listeria is one of the germs that causes an upset stomach caused by eating contaminated foods.

Listeria infection most often affects pregnant women, newborns, and older adults with weakened immune systems. Healthy people and children can also be infected with listeria, but they often develop only mild symptoms. 

If a   pregnant woman becomes infected with the germ, it may lead to  premature birth , severe infection of the fetus, or stillbirth.

Symptoms of listeriosis

Symptoms of a listeria infection include:

  • high body temperature;
  • Infectious disorders.
  • muscle aches;
  • feeling nauseous or vomiting

In the event of the spread of infection and its transmission to the nervous system, several other symptoms may appear, such as the following:

  • headache;
  • Stiffness in the back of the neck.
  • feeling confused
  • loss of balance
  • The incidence of heart anticonvulsant (Convulsion).
  • Severe stomach upset.
  • Flu-like symptoms, especially in pregnant women.

Listeriosis Causes and Risk Factors

Listeria is present in water and soil, and can cause contamination in vegetables. It can also be transmitted through pesticides that are produced from animal dung. In addition, animals may transmit the bacteria and cause contamination in meat and dairy products.

Contamination can occur in processed foods, such as: cheese and cold meats after the production process, in addition to milk products that have not undergone the pasteurization process.

Complications of listeriosis

Listeriosis may cause some complications, such as the following:

  • Blood poisoning.
  • Meningitis.

Diagnosis of listeriosis

Listeriosis is diagnosed based on the patient’s medical history and a physical exam, in which the doctor asks questions about the patient’s symptoms, the different food products he or she has recently consumed, and the work and home environment.

Sometimes a blood test or so-called lumbar puncture test   (Lumbar puncture – LP) is done to confirm the diagnosis.

Listeriosis treatment

Most of the time, there’s no need to treat listeriosis when it appears in a healthy person, and symptoms of the disease usually go away after a few weeks.

In most cases, a combination of antibiotics is prescribed, so that the attending physician can establish a definitive diagnosis.

If a woman is pregnant and has listeriosis, taking antibiotics can prevent the infection from being passed to the fetus. Babies who become infected with the bacteria listeriosis can also receive the same antibiotics that are prescribed for adults.

Listeriosis Prevention

 Infection with the listeria bacteria can be prevented by taking some necessary measures and precautions with regard to handling food products, as follows:

  • Be careful when buying food

This is done through the following:

  1. Ensure that fresh meat, poultry and fish are carefully packaged, and kept away from other food products.
  2. Go home as soon as you’re done shopping, so that all food products can be stored and stored properly.
  • Take care when preparing food.

This is done through the following:

  1. Wash hands thoroughly before and after handling food.
  2. Wash fresh fruits and vegetables well under running water.
  3. Use separate cutting boards for each type of food, so that fresh fruits and vegetables are separated from meat, chicken and fish products.
  4. Put cutting boards and knives into the dishwasher to sanitize them well after use.
  5.  Use a clean meat thermometer to determine if the meat has reached the desired level of doneness. 
  6. Avoid eating partially processed steaks, as well as raw fish dishes, including sushi, oysters, and seafood.

Take care to store and store food properly

This is done through the following:

  1. placing meat, poultry, eggs and fish products in the freezer; This is because listeria bacteria can multiply even in the refrigerator.
  2. Make sure to clean the food items that have fallen into the refrigerator, especially the liquids for sausages and fresh meat and chicken.
  • other things

It includes the following:

  1. Ensure that food is served properly, as hot food products must be served while they are warm, and cold food products when they are cold.
  2. Be sure to follow the instructions that appear on food packaging, in addition to the instructions that appear on the packages, which contain information about the expiration date, and how to prepare and store food.
  3. Avoid taking the product if there is any doubt about its safety.
  4.  Heating contaminated food does not make it edible, and the color and smell of the food may be normal, but this is not enough for the food to be healthy and edible.
  • Some advice for pregnant women

It includes the following:

  1. Refrain from eating sausages, ready-made meals, and canned products unless they are heated enough.
  2. Avoid eating soft cheeses, such as feta cheese, blue cheese, or cheeses made in Mexico.
  3. Not to eat minced liver, or meat products used for fat, and these products can be eaten if they come from preserved cans.
  4. Do not eat smoked marine products from the refrigerator, unless they are part of cooked food, such as: salmon, silverfish, cod, and tuna, and canned marine products, such as salmon or tuna, and smoked fish products that do not require refrigeration.
  5. Do not drink milk that has not undergone the pasteurization process, and do not eat milk products that have been made from unpasteurized milk.
  6. Avoid eating purchased salads containing beef, chicken, eggs, tuna, seafood, and foods that increase the risk of listeriosis.

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