Food and Water Borne Diseases Trivia Quiz

Answer: Salmonellosis

The Salmonella bacteria are named for an American veterinarian, Daniel Salmon, who worked for the US Department of Agriculture and spent his working life studying the causes of diseases in animals. The bacteria live in many animals, including chickens, rodents and creatures such as turtles, and can be passed on to humans who handle them. Freezing doesn't kill the bacteria, and they are easily passed on to anyone eating raw or barely cooked food.

Symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. The disease usually passes in a few day to a week although pregnant women, young children and those with a compromised immune system are more at risk.

Answer: Norovirus

This unpleasant, but usually shortlived, illness is spread by contact with someone who has the disease or by touching anything where the virus has been left and transferring it to your mouth. It can also be spread in food handled by anyone who has the virus.

Symptoms include nausea and diarrhoea which usually clear up without medical intervention in two or three days. Being in close proximity to other people increases the risk which is why you will often see headlines about outbreaks on cruises.

Answer: Cholera

Cholera has been the cause of several pandemics of the nineteenth century, spreading from India and now endemic in several countries. The bacteria cause severe inflammation of the intestines leading to bouts of watery diarrhoea which passes the germs from the body thus increasing the risk to others.

Prompt treatment with an oral rehydration solution is needed, with patients needing treatment with intravenous fluids if they have become severely dehydrated. Epidemics of cholera in prisoner of war camps caused many deaths during the Second World War.

Answer: Botulism

The bacteria known as Clostridium botulinum are commonly found in the soil and are normally harmless to humans. The spores only reproduce in conditions where oxygen is absent and can infect humans via food which has not been preserved properly for human consumption. It most often occurs in home grown produce rather than that commercially prepared.

The toxins attack the nerves with symptoms such as vertigo, blurred vision and difficulty in speaking being indicative of infection. If the toxins spread to the respiratory system patients would need mechanical support to breathe. The early symptoms can be mistaken for a stroke. Treatment is by antitoxins. The cosmetic treatment of botox makes use of the nerve paralysis the bacteria causes by using a much diluted form.

Answer: Giardiasis

The parasite is called Giardia duodenalis and it is spread very easily in excrement. Even a tiny amount can be sufficient to infect a human and it can survive for a long time outside the body. The parasite lives in the intestines and causes particularly unpleasant, greasy stools. Anyone infected also passes more than the usual amount of gas (often called farts) which smell even worse than the normal ones. Burping is another pointer to the disease, particularly those with unpleasant smells.

Treatment with antibiotics is effective. Unlike many of the other diseases in this quiz, giardiasis is common in most countries. In the UK it is the most common intestinal parasite and the USA also has a relatively high incidence.

Answer: Listeriosis

The listeria bacteria can be found in a wide range of foods including processed meats, such as ham, seafoods, (including in sushi), paté and unpasteurised milk products. Among the symptoms are a high temperature, chills and nausea.

Generally, listeriosis is not serious, but the risk increases for the very young and the very old or for anyone with a weakened immune system such as those undergoing chemotherapy treatment. For pregnant women there is an increased risk of miscarriage or even stillbirth. Listeriosis can be treated with antibiotics if necessary. Listeria is named for Joseph Lister, the British surgeon who pioneered antiseptic surgery.

Answer: Toxoplasmosis

Symptoms of an infection include a fever, swollen glands and sore throat, although many people display no symptoms at all and don't even realise that they've had the disease. One infection makes you immune for the rest of your life.

The disease can be serious for women in the early stages of pregnancy, raising the risk of miscarriage and birth defects. You will often see warnings that pregnant women should avoid disposing of cat litter for this reason. Anyone with a suppressed immune system is also at a higher risk.

As with most of these illnesses, the best defence is regular handwashing and wearing gloves.

Answer: Typhoid

Caused by Salmonella typhi, typhoid fever is a highly contagious disease with the bacteria being passed on in human excrement or urine. Symptoms include headaches, fever, fatigue and constipation rather than diarrhoea, although this becomes common as the disease progresses. The bacteria can be passed on by eating food prepared by an infected person, or in seafood or raw vegetables.

Antibiotics are effective if the disease is diagnosed in its early stages. If not treated, the bacteria can spread throughout the body causing internal bleeding. In severe cases peritonitis is a risk which may lead to sepsis and death.

Answer: Dracunculiasis

Dracunculus medinensis is the name of the parasite which causes the disease named for it. The illness is commonly known as Guinea worm disease, which is easier to say. The disease is caused by the female of the species, which can grow to lengths as much as twenty times that of the male. It is caused when water contaminated by the larvae of the worm is consumed and is prevalent in parts of Africa.

The larvae live in the human body, hatching into worms which grow in the body for a year or so. The females then break through the skin to find a place to lay their eggs. An eradication programme was begun by the Carter Center (established by President Jimmy Carter) in 1980 and the disease is close to being eliminated in the first quarter of the twenty-first century. Only a handful of African countries remain risk areas.

Answer: Poliomyelitis

The most common cause of contaminated water is sewage. The virus causes a fever, vomiting and stiffness of the neck. Severe infection can cause paralysis, particularly in the legs, meaning victims need the assistance of callipers to walk. Death can be caused if the breathing muscles are paralysed. You may, like me, be old enough to remember photos of wards full of patients in iron lungs, a type of breathing machine.

The development of vaccines in the 1950s led to mass vaccination programmes in the western world with the incidence of polio dropping dramatically. The disease is still endemic in some countries, notably Afghanistan and Pakistan.