Listeria
The government has updated its advice for vulnerable groups consuming freshly slice cooked meats. For more information view the related factsheet (Factsheets 64 & 71) at the bottom of this page.
What is food poisoning?
Food poisoning is a term used to cover an unpleasant range of illnesses which can be caused by bacteria, viruses, chemicals, metals and poisonous plants. For more information, see Factsheet 52 - What is Food Poisoning?.
Notifiable Diseases
Notifiable diseases are a short list of illnesses which are closely monitored and investigated. Local Authorities are responsible for the investigation of some of them, mostly covering food poisoning and other illnesses with public health implications, such as tuberculosis and legionella.
What does the Food Team do?
Most of our work is concerned with investigating food poisoning, whether one off (sporadic) cases or outbreaks of illness. We also investigate outbreaks at institutions such as schools, nursing homes and nurseries.
Who do you work with?
Illnesses don't respect City or Borough Council boundaries. We work with our colleagues at neighbouring Authorities as well as the Health protection Agency and Primary Care Trust.
How do you investigate cases?
Most cases are reported to us by your GP. We try to contact you to discuss where and what you have eaten over the 3 days prior to you feeling ill, as well as taking details of your symptoms. If we can link your illness with another case in the area, we will visit suspect premises. However, with only 1 case it is hard to prove any particular premises to be at fault, and a significant number of food poisonings are thought to occur in the home.
With outbreaks, the evidence we collect gives us a much better chance of identifying the source of the infection. In these cases we can take steps to limit the outbreak first, and then consider what action might be appropriate.
With institutional outbreaks, we try to work to limit the spread of infection. In schools and nurseries this means making sure no children attend who are still suffering from symptoms, and making sure nursing and care homes have appropriate isolation practices in place to reduce the chance of infection spreading. Institutions should have their own outbreak control plan to use in the case of infection. In these sorts of premises, 2 or more cases of illness qualifies as an outbreak, although the team will be happy to discuss any questions you may have.
Exclusions
Anyone with diarrhoea and vomiting should stay off work until they have been symptom free for at least 48 hours.
This is particularly important if you are a food handler or work with young children or elderly people. You should notify your employer about your illness.
It is always advisable to visit your GP and submit a faecal specimen to try to establish what type of food poisoning you may have had.
Fact Sheets
We have a number of factsheets available for download that may provide further information on the most common infectious diseases, see the bottom of this page for a list of common factsheets.
Document links
Date Published: 10/12/08