There is increasing evidence that Hepatitis E is a food borne illness. In one study, one in ten sausages were infected with a potentially deadly virus Hepatitis E Scientists have warned about the acute risk of hepatitis E from the French delicacy figatellu – a smoked pigs liver sausage – which is often eaten raw. The infection was once considered very rare but cases have risen by nearly 40 per cent in a year.
The virus usually causes only relatively mild symptoms such as sickness, a temperature and muscle pain, It will clear up within a month. But it can be fatal for the elderly, cancer victims, pregnant women and others with existing liver problems. Around one in 50 of those infected will die, but in pregnant women one out of five will die. There is also a risk that the virus will be passed to the baby. Men over 50 are more susceptible to the virus as they tend to drink more and have weaker livers.,
Sausages are regarded as particularly dangerous as they often contain liver meat and traces of pig’s blood as well as a casing from the animal’s intestine.Sausages have to be cooked 158F for at least 20 minutes to kill the virus but most people do not cook them that long. Tests have showed that the virus can survive at 140F after an hour.
It is common in the developing world, where it is usually transmitted through contaminated water. It ‘is increasingly being recognised’ as a major disease.Hepatitis E causes around 20 million infections a year worldwide, which result in around 57,000 deaths. It was first found in 1955 in New Delhi, India, following contamination of water. It is endemic in much of the Far East and Africa, where sanitation is poor.
China developed The world’s first vaccine but is not available worldwide.
..
No comments:
Post a Comment