Food and Nutrition: Food Borne Illness in Australia (Listeria)

This study discusses the causes of foodborne illnesses in Australia, their effects and the general preventive measures which when applied, would reduce the risks and thus improve the standards of living of Australians.

Running head: FOOD AND NUTRITION 1
Food and Nutrition: Food Borne Illness in Australia (Listeria)
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

FOOD AND NUTRITION 2
Abstract
Foodborne illnesses have been considered as a severe situation in Australia and
especially among the aboriginal citizens. Hence, it is equally vital to look for possible
solutions to the circumstances. The motive of this study is to provide an understanding of the
current situation of the problem of foodborne illnesses as a result of bacterial and viral food
poisoning. An introduction paragraph is included, and it contains some of the concepts of
foodborne diseases followed by a thesis statement which summarises the motive of the study.
The paper is then arranged to discuss various issues revolving around the illnesses with the
help of subtitles. The cases of foodborne diseases give a glimpse of the numbers of infections
and hospitalization in Australia. The paper further discusses the four human groups who
happen to be highly susceptible to the virus. Several ways to prevent the situation is
discussed, and a conclusion is included which restates the motive and the contents of the
whole paper and further recommends one of the ways that can help reduce the situation.

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Introduction
Human beings are prone to infection by various diseases. The causative agents of
human diseases ranging from known controllable factors, known uncontrollable factors and
to some extent, unknown factors which can, however, be controlled (Brown et al. 2017). If
the causative agents of disease are unrecognizable, there would be high chances of many
people succumbing to such a condition within a short period. Listeria can be defined as
bacteria which causes diseases to both human beings and other warm-blooded organisms
through the contamination of food (Soon, Manning & Wallace, 2016). Australia, in recent
decades, has fallen a victim of the bacteria. The condition caused by the bacterium is derived
from its name and thus commonly recognized as Listeriosis. Various types of food have been
a cause of Listeriosis with the most recent instance including the death of several people
arising from the consumption of rockmelon from a single producer.
This study would be considered necessary as it discusses the causes of foodborne
illnesses in Australia, their effects and the general preventive measures which when applied,
would reduce the risks and thus improve the standards of living of Australians.
Cases of Foodborne Illnesses in Australia
Based on the research work that was done by Chousalka et al. (2018), there is
evidence that foodborne diseases form a significant factor that contributes to the morbidity of
Australian citizens. Australia is known to have some form of disparity in terms of healthcare
provision especially between the aboriginal and the non-indigenous Australians. Incidents of
foodborne diseases or rather listeriosis have been recorded of late. Some of the cases are
emanating from the consumption of contaminated eggs, rockmelon, and many other food
substances. The number of people who had fallen victims of the foodborne disease tragedies
is reported to be 2009. Out of the 2009 people, 2000 were ailing while the remaining nine

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were pronounced dead by the disease (Moffatt et al. 2016). The values provided are for those
whose reports have been availed. However, some people succumb to the illness but are not
reported especially those in the remote areas. In such a case, knowing the exact number of
victims affected is difficult.
In 2017, Australia was attacked by an outbreak of foodborne illnesses which were
arising from two main categories. The two groups of foodborne diseases are discussed below.
The Salmonella Contamination: - Salmonella is a bacterium which affects people who
consume particular food known to be carriers of the bacterium. Some of the food substances
that caused the disease in Australia including but not limited to tomatoes, cantaloupe
(rockmelon) and even ground turkeys. The condition is reported to have killed dozens of
people and still penetrates to register itself as a calamity and a hindrance to the better living
standards of people. The victims of the disease tend to manifest symptoms such as cramps of
the stomach, diarrhea and both paratyphoid and typhoid fever (Harris, Ali & Ryu, 2018).
Most of the victims of this infection recover based on hospital medication due to severe
diarrhea which may cause adverse conditions. However, other people recover within seven
days even in the absence of medical treatment.
Listeria Contamination: - some of the food that Australians ate at the time of outbreak
contained a bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes (OzFoodNet Working Group. 2015). The
bacteria were mostly found in rockmelon (cantaloupe), and most of the cases of
contamination were reported in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales in Australia.
Research works provided that the disease is not so common. However, the effects are highly
fatal especially when it has the inflammation of brain cells (meningitis) and the poisoning of
blood (septicemia) as part of its symptoms. The societal populations which are regarded as
highly susceptible to the effects of the illness are the elderly, the pregnant women and their

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unborn babies and finally, those people who generally have a weak immune system and who
are regarded as prone to any form of attack.
It is effortless for the listeria bacteria to spread to people as it is found in both water,
soil and vegetation. In most cases, the pets that people rear in their homes could be viewed as
the largest carriers of the bacteria to the homes of their owners (Polkinghorne et al. 2017).
Some of the signs used to ascertain the presence of listeria include gastrointestinal issues such
as diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea. Other symptoms include muscle aches and fever.
Therefore, different food substances can contribute to increased cases of foodborne
illnesses. The table below shows how a single food vehicle added to the outbreak of
foodborne diseases in Australia in the year 2012 (Archer et al. 2018).
Based on the table, an inference can be made that poultry and their products are the
primary causative agents of most of the foodborne diseases. In just 34 outbreak occurrences,
the consumption of poultry and eggs have resulted in up to 873 persons getting affected and a

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total number of 72 people being hospitalized. It seems that most of the infections end by
themselves while others have to be treated to restore better conditions. The death cases were
too low with only nine people becoming victims.
The Risk Factors of Foodborne Diseases
Infants and young children: - Children whose ages range from birth to 5 years can be
severely affected by foodborne bacteria or viruses. The main reason for making them
vulnerable is their underdeveloped immune system. The weak immune system makes them
unable to fight the bacteria and viruses. There are high chances that such children would be
hospitalized and the diagnosis will preferably show the presence of E. coli O157 as the
primary cause of their ill-health as provided by Jackson & Meah (2018).
Pregnant women: - Pregnancy often causes changes in the manner and rate of
metabolism. The changes may increase the reaction rate to severe levels which may
consequently become a risk base for foodborne illnesses. For this reason, many pregnant
women are diagnosed with Listeria. Although it’s infrequent, the infants are also reported to
be vulnerable to Listeria infection during pregnancy.
Persons with weak immune systems: - individuals whose body ability to fight
infections 9immunity0 have been impaired tend to be vulnerable to deal with any other
disease. The immunity may be reduced as a result of AIDS infection or any other chronic
illness (Lund, B. (2015). Whenever such people are exposed to the consumption of
contaminated food substances, they would be easily affected by Listeria.
The Elderly: - there is a significant relationship between old age and immunity. As a
person’s age increases, their resistance reduces significantly. For that reason, their body fails
to withstand the effects of bacteria and viruses that come by the contamination of food. Their

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inability to do away with food poisoning agents makes them to highly vulnerable for
infection of listeria and other related bacteria.
Prevention of Foodborne Illnesses
The prevention of diseases that arise from food poisoning include all the ways of
making food substances safe for consumption. The different ways to make food safer for
human consumption include the methods discussed below.
Cleanliness of food: - the hygienic requirements of food preparation is essential in
making the food safer. Some of the activities needed under this situation include the thorough
cleaning of food, washing of hands to avoid contaminating food and the storage of food in
clean areas which do not allow for access of pests and other disease-causing organisms.
The separation of raw food from cooked food ensures that the level of contamination
is reduced. The separation does not only refer to the food substances alone but also the
utensils used to prepare the food. For example, the knife used to cut raw meat should not be
part of the dining utensils unless it’s thoroughly cleaned (Sharif, Javed & Nasir, 2018).
Thorough cooking of food is also essential as it helps in eliminating most of the bacteria and
viruses which would otherwise cause infection.
The preservation of food: - The temperatures in which food is kept has an impact on
the safety of the food. Most of the bacteria and viruses do not survive in extreme
temperatures. Therefore, food kept in refrigerators plays a critical role in doing away with
possible carriers of food poisoning agents (Sadilek et al. 2016). The general environment
where people live should be kept very clean to keep off filthy insects like houseflies.

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Conclusion
Foodborne illnesses in Australia in the recent decade. The increased foodborne illness
morbidity is as a result of the increased food poisoning and poor health initiatives in the
country. Australia is regarded as a first world country with third world health facilities. For
that reason, many people, especially the aboriginal Australians have succumbed to the
illnesses which include listeriosis, E. coli O157 and other related bacteria and virus caused
food infections. Four groups of people who are highly susceptible to the disease of foodborne
illnesses include the pregnant mothers and their babies, the weak-immune individuals and the
elderly in the society. Their vulnerability is a result of either reduced or underdeveloped
immunity. The preventive measures, therefore, include all the ways of making food
substances safe for consumption including cleanliness, cooking, and storage. However,
another better proposal would be to keep the entire surround of human residential clean and
safe to drive away causative agents like houseflies.

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