We know that lidless toilets spread poop droplets and it’s worse than you think. More research is in: bioaerosol emissions (the spray that comes from the toilet) during toilet flushing are an often-overlooked source of potential health risks in shared public facilities.

A new study published in the journal Risk Analysis found that bioaerosol concentrations of two bacteria — Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) — exceeded acceptable levels established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) after toilet flushing. Inhaling these biological particles can produce symptoms like abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.

The research was conducted in two restrooms located in an office building in China. One contained a squat toilet and the other a bidet toilet. Scientists measured the emissions of bioaerosols containing S. aureus and E. coli under various flushing conditions and ventilation scenarios in both restrooms.

An analysis of the results showed that, compared to bidet toilets, squat toilets generated 42 to 62 percent higher concentrations of S. aureus bioaerosols and 16 to 27 percent higher concentrations of E. coli bioaerosols.

Related: why do wombats have cubed poop

In addition, bioaerosol concentrations were 25 to 43 percent staph and 16 to 27 percent E. coli lower after the first flush of an empty toilet compared to those observed after a second flush (when feces were present).

Importantly, the researchers found that active ventilation with an exhaust fan reduced the risk by 10 times.

Related: come inside and meet a squat toilet

The lidless toilet setup in the lab. A green laser catches droplets of toilet matter as it flies in the air

“Our findings underscore the substantial health risks posed by bioaerosol exposure in public washrooms,” says lead author Wajid Ali, a PhD student in environmental studies at China University of Geosciences. “Enhancing ventilation systems by optimizing exhaust fan efficiency and air exchange rates can effectively reduce bioaerosol concentrations and exposure risks for the public.”

He adds that the findings for squat toilets (common in the Middle East and Asia) apply for seated toilets as well. For public health policymakers, the results of the study provide evidence-based recommendations to define safe bioaerosol exposure limits and promote hygiene practices in public washrooms, ensuring healthier and safer indoor environments. The take home message? Keep the air well ventilated in the rest room for public health and safety and when you can, put down the lid before you flush –– especially #2.

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Mental health disorders are on the rise in the US. Over 1 in 5 adults in America live with a mental condition. Women are at risk of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and specific phobias that interfere with their daily lives. Conversely, men are at risk of alcohol abuse, specific phobias, and depression. 

Genetics, stress, and trauma contribute to mental health problems. But they aren’t the only culprits. There are several unexpected factors that can affect our mental well-being significantly. We’ll discuss some of them in this article. 

#1 Poor Gut Health

Your gut health has a direct impact on your brain chemistry as well as mood—did you know that? An imbalance of bacteria in the gut microbiome can increase your risk of depression as well as anxiety. 

An article published in Harvard Health Publishing has disclosed that the gastrointestinal system and the brain are interrelated. Thus, intestinal distress can cause stress, depression, and anxiety. 

Another study published by NIH has revealed that gastrointestinal problems can increase the risk of depression in 7% of people and anxiety problems in 8.8%. 

Changes and imbalances in the gut microbiome are also linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar disorder, autism, dementia, and schizophrenia.

A professor of medicine and psychiatry at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Glenn Treisman, states that gut microbes produce chemicals that affect the brain. These chemicals are carried to the brain through blood or nerves connecting to the brain. Conversely, your brain can also alter the microbes in your gut. 

If you want to improve your focus and energy and support your mental well-being, you can shop Fenix Health for natural supplements designed to boost cognitive function and improve mood.

#2 Heavy Metals

When it comes to heavy metals, the brain is most affected by them. You’re at a high risk of developing mental health issues if you’re exposed to heavy metals. 

Heavy metals are toxic at all levels. They can induce severe oxidative stress, interfere with neurotransmitter release, destroy neurons, and eventually damage the central nervous system. Research links exposure to heavy metals, such as lead or cadmium, with mental illnesses, including bipolarity, cognitive dysfunction, anxieties, and depression. 

Asbestos is another substance that can have a negative effect on the mental health of individuals. Whether the exposure is direct or secondary, asbestos can trigger a range of emotional and psychological responses. Those exposed to asbestos might experience heightened fear, anxiety, and stress. 

Some occupations at risk of asbestos exposure include construction workers, shipyard workers, boiler makers, plumbers and pipefitters, and textile workers. Others, however, are exposed to it by inhaling airborne fibers, often during the demolition or renovation of the building. 

There has been an ongoing asbestos lawsuit. People who have been exposed to asbestos and suffered mental health issues are filing asbestos lawsuits. These suits are being filed against the manufacturers of asbestos products as well as employers who failed to provide adequate protection from asbestos to their employees. 

The exact asbestos lawsuit settlement amount is hard to determine. But lawyers estimate that it could range between $250,000 and $1.5 million. Factors such as the severity of the illness and the number of defendants involved influence the settlement amount. 

#3 Social Media Overload

The birth of social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook ushered in a world of digital addiction. While these platforms help people stay connected with their loved ones, they can affect their mental health. 

Using social media is strongly correlated with the development of psychological problems like anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia, and a sense of mental deprivation. Most literature cited forecasts the chance of social media-induced mental health issues is related to the frequency of usage and amount of time people spend on these sites. 

Endless scrolling through idealized images and curated lifestyles can lead to anxiety, depression, and feelings of inadequacy.  

Overuse of social media platforms can lead to excessive screen time. This can disrupt sleep patterns and reduce time spent on face-to-face interactions, physical activities, and other fulfilling activities. The phenomenon of “doomscrolling”—endlessly consuming negative news—can further exacerbate feelings of helplessness and anxiety.

To sum things up, a myriad of factors influence your mental health beyond the usual suspects. Be it poor gut health, exposure to heavy metals, or social media overload, each of these unexpected culprits can significantly impact your well-being. However, there are several measures you can take to improve it. 

Try maintaining a healthy gut by eating a balanced diet rich in fiber and probiotics. To limit your exposure to heavy metals, switch to organic foods and use air purifiers. Establishing boundaries and limiting social media use to no more than two hours a day can reduce feelings of inadequacy and anxiety. All these measures will foster a healthier mind and enhance your overall quality of life.

If you are a student of Law, consider specializing in environmental law to protect people and planet.

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Antibiotics, after washing hands, is the biggest breakthrough in medical history. Without them people could die of routine infections from a cut toe or after childbirth. With them, doctors can stop sepsis before it goes too far. But every parent’s nightmare, and as doctors in hospitals know too well  – bacteria have developed ways to become resistant to some of today’s antibiotics – meaning they won’t work on all people all of the time.

One reason people don’t give antibiotics to their children early is to safeguard the drugs for when the child needs it. But new research may be able to pump up the potency when antibiotics become resistant: A new antibiotic that works by disrupting two different cellular targets would make it 100 million times more difficult for bacteria to evolve resistance, according to new research from the University of Illinois Chicago.

Related: all about bacteria

For a new paper in the scientific journal Nature Chemical Biology, researchers looked at how a class of synthetic drugs called macrolones disrupt bacterial cell function to fight infectious diseases. Their experiments demonstrate that macrolones can work two different ways – either by interfering with protein production or corrupting DNA structure.

Because bacteria would need to implement defenses to both attacks simultaneously, the researchers calculated that drug resistance is nearly impossible.

“The beauty of this antibiotic is that it kills through two different targets in bacteria,” said Alexander Mankin, from the university. “If the antibiotic hits both targets at the same concentration, then the bacteria lose their ability to become resistant via acquisition of random mutations in any of the two targets.”

Related: swallowing poop pills is good for your gut

Macrolones are synthetic antibiotics that combine the structures of two widely used antibiotics with different mechanisms. Macrolides, such as erythromycin, block the ribosome, the protein manufacturing factories of the cell. Fluoroquinolones, such as ciprofloxacin, target a bacteria-specific enzyme called DNA gyrase.

Two UIC laboratories led by Yury Polikanov, associate professor of biological sciences, and Mankin and Nora Vázquez-Laslop, research professor of pharmacy, examined the cellular activity of different macrolone drugs.

Polikanov’s group, which specializes in structural biology, studied how these drugs interact with the ribosome, finding that they bind more tightly than traditional macrolides. The macrolones were even capable of binding and blocking ribosomes from macrolide-resistant bacterial strains and failed to trigger the activation of resistance genes.

Other experiments tested whether the macrolone drugs preferentially inhibited the ribosome or the DNA gyrase enzymes at various doses. While many designs were better at blocking one target or another, one that interfered with both at its lowest effective dose stood out as the most promising candidate.

“By basically hitting two targets at the same concentration, the advantage is that you make it almost impossible for the bacteria to easily come up with a simple genetic defense,” Polikanov said.

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In a world first, an American company Seres has just earned the coveted FDA approval to sell and market a pill that contains donated human fecal matter  –– poop. We wrote about the Seres poop pill product in 2016 and it is now a reality.

The use of microbiome therapy, literally transferring healthy human gut microbes from one person to another, is very beneficial to maintain a healthy balance of bacteria in human intestines. In theory you could swallow the poop of your friend’s or a family member, but that just seems gross, and unprofessional. How do you know if their gut biome is good for yours?

Seres, along with its commercial partner Nestle, is hoping to commercialize on the idea, helping people who suffer from gut problems such as Clostridium difficile.

People having a bacteria imbalance in their intestines can be afflicted with this severe intestinal ailment. Clostridium difficile (CDI) is a severe gut infection that can strike people using antibiotics, which wipes out their existing gut bacterial levels. It tends to re-occur. But healthy bacteria from someone else’s poop can give a person suffering from CDI a boost.

The process of transferring faecal bacteria from one person to another is known as a faecal microbiota transplant. Seres’s main competitor is an actual stool bank called OpenBiome.org that provides stool samples of “pure poop” to medical practitioners for microbiota transplants. So why not just get it for free? You have to hand it to scientists for figuring out how to tweak poop.

Seres has earned an FDA approval on VOWST, not indicated for the treatment of CDI but for preventing reoccurrence. 

“We are deeply grateful to the patients, caregivers, clinical investigators, and employees who contributed to the discovery, development, and approval of VOWST,” said Eric Shaff, CEO at Seres. 

Recurrent CDI represents significant unmet need and is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infection that can result in severe illness and death. Based on data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the companies estimate 156,000 episodes in the US in 2023 alone.

Seres founder Noubar Afeyan, born in Lebanon, is now Canadian and American. He studied at McGill University in Toronto

“Recurrent C. difficile infection is a highly debilitating and life-threatening disease, and antibiotics alone do not address the underlying cause of rCDI, dysbiosis of the gut microbiome,” said Carl Crawford MD, at Weill Cornell Medical College involved in the study. “The approval of VOWST provides an important new oral treatment option for this disease, and I am pleased to now be able to offer this medicine to recurrent CDI patients.”

Nestle, based in Vevey, Switzerland invested $120 million USD in Seres in 2016.

Seres Therapeutics is a microbiome therapeutics company that was founded in 2010 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Seres Therapeutics is a microbiome therapeutics company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was founded in 2010 by Noubar Afeyan and David Berry.

Noubar Afeyan is an American-Canadian entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist. He is best known for co-founding the biotechnology company Moderna, through his venture capital firm, Flagship Pioneering, and for co-founding humanitarian projects such as Aurora Prize and The Future Armenian. Afeyan was born to Armenian parents in Beirut, Lebanon in 1962.

::Seres

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Bacteria may rule the planet and they certainly rule our gut. Will engineering help us or be our downfall?

The World Health Organization recently defined bacteria resistance to antibiotics as one of the most significant dangers to public health and food safety.

According to researchers, given that beneficial and pathogenic bacteria have fought each other over resources and nutrients since the dawn of time (and can be used to grow food on Mars), they have developed a variety of sophisticated mechanisms that neutralizes their competition. That is one reason why people swallow poop pills. We didn’t make this up! 

Understanding the mechanisms that mediate these bacterial wars will enable their utilization and conversion into new tools that will be used to treat diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

In the Tel Aviv University study, researchers ‘borrowed’ a toxin injection system – known as a Type 6 Secretion System – from a pathogenic bacterium and introduced it into a ‘friendly’ bacterium, Vibrio natriegens. This ‘friendly’ bacterium is not harmful to humans or animals and can survive and reproduce under a variety of conditions. The injection system is similar to a poisoned arrow shot from a bacterium towards neighboring bacteria.

Toxins carried on the arrow then mediate the elimination of competing bacteria. With the help of central regulator protein that they identified, researchers were able to produce an ‘operating switch’ for the system and cause it to ‘turn on’ only in response to recognizing desirable environmental conditions. In addition, researchers proved it possible to control the type and amount of toxins that are loaded on the arrow, thus adjusting the system’s killing range.

Dr. Dor Salomon explains, “The system that we built allows us to engineer ‘good’ bacteria that can recognize pathogenic bacteria, attack them with toxins and neutralize them. We know how to change and control every component in the system and create a bacterium that neutralizes different strains of bacteria. This is proof of feasibility, showing that we have the knowledge and ability to create bacteria that take advantage of this killing system and may serve as antibiotic treatments. Such bacteria could replace the classic antibiotics that we currently use in a variety of scenarios”.

According to Dr. Salomon, researchers created the prototype in a bacterium occurring naturally in salt water. Therefore, it is particularly efficient at neutralizing bacteria are pathogens found in fish and other marine creatures used for food. “The system in its current form is predominantly suited for preventing and treating bacterial infections that affect the production of food from marine animals. Fish and other seafoods constitute a major food source in many regions around the world. Their productivity is severely impaired as a result of bacteria-borne diseases”, continues Dr. Salomon.

“Since we want to avoid pouring antibiotics into aquaculture farms, a biological solution such as the one we have developed is an effective alternative. Moreover, our system can also be adapted to treat pathogenic bacteria in humans, farm animals, plants and the environment”, he concludes.

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Researchers have shown that pea plants are not only capable helping up with solar energy and making a good alternative meat burger like Beyond Meat but they able to help us with sustainable agriculture too. Scientists at Oxford have found that peas are selective with choosing symbiotic bacteria as partners. These are smart investment decisions say the researchers in a new report. 

(And if you got here just because you love peas, read our pea pod soup recipe. It’s a killer). 

The new research, published today in PNAS, shows that a plant weighs up the different bacterial partners, and then only provides sugar to the best available strains; cutting off those that are less good. This means that the plant must be able to compare different strains and invest accordingly: a strain that looks like a good investment in one context, might be a poor choice in another. 

Annet Westhoek at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, who jointly led the work said: ‘The bacteria only start to supply nitrogen once they have been in the nodules for a few days, so the plant has to wait before it can decide how beneficial each bacterial strain will be.’

Globally, the biggest factor limiting plant growth is a lack of nitrogen, which makes up almost 80% of the Earth’s atmosphere. But plants simply can’t make use of nitrogen gas in the air. For this reason, legumes – the plant family that includes peas – have evolved a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria called rhizobia, which convert nitrogen gas into a form that plants can use.

Pea plants host the bacteria in specialised root growths called nodules, but the bacteria demand sugar from the plant in return for the nitrogen that they supply.

The plant is usually infected by many different bacterial strains and some bacteria provide more nitrogen than others, giving rise to an investment dilemma. While it was already known that some plants stop investing in bacteria which provide no nitrogen at all, by cutting off their sugar supply, it hasn’t been clear until now how plants make more subtle investment decisions.

This study used a novel approach by engineering a bacterial strain that was intermediate in its ability to provide nitrogen. The plants treated this strain differently depending on which other strains were available. When the only choice was a strain that provided no nitrogen at all, then the plant invested in the intermediate strain. But, when a really good strain was available, the plant cut off investment to the intermediate strain.

One of the study’s lead authors, Laura Clark, a DPhil student at Oxford’s Department of Plant Sciences and Merton College, said: ‘This research shows that plants must have some mechanism to compare different bacteria and make smart investment decisions. We were really surprised that plants could do that, rather than simply supplying sugars in proportion to the nitrogen supplied.’

Dr Lindsay Turnbull, who co-supervised the research, said: ‘This is a key development as previous research in this area used naturally-occurring bacteria which may have differed in many characteristics. In this study, the bacterial strains were genetically altered to provide different levels of nitrogen, so we can be sure that changes in the plant’s response are due to differences in their ability to supply nitrogen.’

Currently, most crop plants are supplemented with inorganic nitrogen fertilisers. These are produced on an industrial scale by the Haber-Bosch process, an energy-intensive reaction which consumes around 1% of the world’s energy supply. Their use also leads to run-off into waterways, causing excessive growth of algae and leading to coastal dead-zones.

Professor Phil Poole, who co-supervised the research, said: ‘Understanding how plants manage their interactions with bacteria could help us select plants which are better at choosing effective bacterial partners. This could reduce the demand for nitrogen fertilisers and the associated problems that they cause.’

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In order to withstand the rigors of space on deep-space missions, food grown outside of Earth needs a little extra help from bacteria. Now, a recent discovery aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has researchers may help create the ‘fuel’ to help plants withstand such stressful situations.

Publishing their findings to Frontiers in Microbiology, researchers working with NASA described the discovery and isolation of 4 strains of bacteria belonging to the family Methylobacteriaceae from different locations aboard the ISS across two consecutive flights.

While 1 strain was identified as Methylorubrum rhodesianum, the other 3 were previously undiscovered and belong to a novel species novel. The rod-shaped, motile bacteria were given the designations IF7SW-B2T, IIF1SW-B5, and IIF4SW-B5 with genetic analysis showing them to be closely related to Methylobacterium indicum.

Methylobacterium species are involved in nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, abiotic stress tolerance, plant growth promotion and biocontrol activity against plant pathogens.

Potential for Mars missions

Now, in honor of the renowned Indian biodiversity scientists Dr Ajmal Khan, the team has proposed to call the novel species Methylobacterium ajmalii.

Commenting on the discovery, Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran (Venkat) and Dr Nitin Kumar Singh of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, (JPL), says that the strains might possess ” biotechnologically useful genetic determinants” for the growing of crops in space.

However, further experimental biology is needed to prove that it is, indeed, a potential game-changer for space farming.

“To grow plants in extreme places where resources are minimal, isolation of novel microbes that help to promote plant growth under stressful conditions is essential,” they said.

Along with JPL, other researchers collaborating on this discovery are based at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Cornell University and the University of Hyderabad in India.

With NASA one day looking to take humans to the surface of Mars – and potentially beyond – the US National Research Council Decadal Survey recommends that the space agency use the ISS as a “test-bed for surveying microorganisms”, according to Venkat and Singh.

“Since our group possess expertise in cultivating microorganisms from extreme niches, we have been tasked by the NASA Space Biology Program to survey the ISS for the presence and persistence of the microorganisms,” they add.

“Needless to say, the ISS is a cleanly-maintained extreme environment. Crew safety is the number 1 priority and hence understanding human/plant pathogens are important, but beneficial microbes like this novel Methylobacterium ajmalii are also needed.”

Expanding the ISS lab

As part of an ongoing surveillance mission, 8 locations on the ISS are being monitored for bacterial growths and have been for the last 6 years. These sample areas include where the crew assembles or where experiments are conducted, such as the plant growth chamber.

While hundreds of bacterial samples from the ISS have been analyzed to date, approximately 1,000 samples have been collected from various other locations on the space station but are awaiting a trip back to Earth where they can be examined.

According to Venkat and Singh, the eventual goal is to bypass this lengthy process and potentially find new novel strains using molecular biology equipment developed and demonstrated for the ISS.

“Instead of bringing samples back to Earth for analyses, we need an integrated microbial monitoring system that collect, process, and analyze samples in space using molecular technologies,” Venkat and Singh said.

“This miniaturized ‘omics in space’ technology – a biosensor development – will help NASA and other space-faring nations achieve safe and sustainable space exploration for long periods of time.”

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The presence of poop and poop products in our daily lives has been receiving increasing attention for some time. News stories include the discoveries of meat products fed with faeces and pumped with toxic contaminates. From a product standpoint, creating recycled paper products from poop have also been covered. But swallowing a pill full of poop to maintain good gut health? Has this idea gone too far?

The use of microbiome therapy, literally transferring healthy human gut microbes from one person to another, is very beneficial to maintain a healthy balance of bacteria in human intestines.

This therapy, now being capitalized on by a company named Seres Therapeutics, literally involves taking human faeces from recognized “stool banks” and then cleaning and processing it into capsules of “poop pills” to be used to maintain the correct bacterial balance in human intestines. Human intestinal “bug balance” often decreases with age, or following over usage of antibiotics. (Update May, 2023: the Seres poop product gets FDA approval).

People having a severe bacteria imbalance in their intestines can be afflicted with severe intestinal ailments such as Clostridium difficile, a severe gut infection that can strike people after extensive use of antibiotics, which wipes out their existing gut bacterial levels.

Although medications such as probiotics are often recommended in these cases, the poop pills being developed by Seres seem to be more directly connected to the source of the problems.

Scientifically, the process of transferring faecal bacteria from one person to another is known as a faecal microbiota transplant. The ability to do this by simply swallowing a pill or capsule is awesome. Seres’s main competitor is an actual stool bank called OpenBiome.org that provides stool samples of “pure poop” to medical practitioners for microbiota transplants. This idea does not sound good to most people, however.

This is why a pill from a company like Seres may be a better alternative for people suffering from gut-related conditions like Clostridium difficile.

There has been supportive accounts of research in this area:

An Alberta-led clinical trial has shown Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) is effective in treating clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infections whether delivered by colonoscopy or by swallowing capsules.

The finding, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, could revolutionize and broaden the use of FMT, which restores the healthy balance of bacteria living in the intestine by transferring a healthy donor’s stool to the gut of a person with C. difficile.

Read more about poop-related issues:

Israeli meat fed with faeces and pumped with toxic contaminates
What recycled paper products from poo look like
Iron rich whale poop essential in Middle East habitats

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‘Everything in moderation’ is good advice, especially when it comes to sunshine. Humans know this, especially in the Middle East, mastering all means of shading devices, and protective clothing. But what if you are an organism without access to sunscreen? Two scientists at Israel’s oldest university have discovered how bacteria protect themselves from overexposure.

Professor Noam Adir of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology recently published a study that describes how bacteria protect their photosynthetic system from too much sunlight.

Photosynthesisis is a natural process of converting light energy into chemical energy that can later be released to fuel an organisms’ activities. It is essential to the animal kingdom but not only for organisms that perform photosynthesis themselves; even animals that don’t perform photosynthesis consume the its primary product, which is glucose.

Think back before digital cameras, remember those sensitive rolls of Kodachrome? Just as film could be overexposed, natural photosynthetic systems are also liable to be damaged by too much light, leading to organism death. Scientists have generally accepted that some organisms developed mechanisms to protect from sunlight overexposure. Adir’s study now reveals the specific strategy used by cyanobacteria (commonly known as “blue green algae”). He calls it cyanobacteria’s “automatic sunshade”.

The main player in this process is the protein OCP which modifies its structure and color in response to intense light, blocking the flow of energy that reaches the center of the photosynthetic reaction. This is traced to a reaction between the active species of OCP and phycobilisome (PBS), the protein complex that functions as a light harvesting antenna in the cyanobacteria.

“In this study we discovered how the OCP blocks the energy,” explained Adir, “In effect, the protein acts as a biological switch. In response to strong light, part of the protein penetrates the PBS, and changes the PBS structure, thereby diverting the flow of energy to the reaction centers. According to experiments done by the Kirilovsky lab, this defense mechanism blocks more than 90% of the sun’s radiation. As soon as the radiation diminishes, the protein returns to its normal state and the flow of energy resumes.”

You can read the full findings, (link to the article here).  Research was conducted by Professor Noam Adir and doctoral student Dvir Harris , in collaboration with Dr. Diana Kirilovsky and her laboratory at I2BC-CEA, in France. The article was published in the scientific journal PNAS.

Technion is a public research university in Haifa, Israel, established in 1912. 

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Bacterial and viral diseases from poultry is a growing problem that affects more people worldwide than every year. Whether the disease be viral in nature, as in the case of Avian or Bird Flu; or unpleasant  intestinal bacterial infections such as salmonella. These diseases can be extremely unpleasant and even fatal to older adults and young children.

While salmonella is the most well known intestinal bacterial infection, another poultry caused disease known as Campylobacter, which also infects the stomach and intestinal tract, is on the rise in many parts of the world; and is now finding its way to the Middle East; especially where large quantities of eggs and other poultry products are consumed; especially in Israel.

An advisory issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) warns people about Campylobacter, a bacteria caused intestinal disease which like Salmonella, attacks the human digestive tract and can be very unpleasant and even fatal to senior adults and young children.

Campylobaacter symptoms include diarrhoea (frequently with blood in the feces), abdominal pain, fever, headache, nausea, and/or vomiting. These symptoms usually last three to six days; but also may lead to
complications such as bacteraemia or presence of bacteria in the blood, hepatitis, pancreatitis which cause infections of the liver and pancreas. The disease can also lead to post-infection complications such as arthritis and Neurological disorders.

Campylobacter bacteria are often found in chickens which though not actually infected, act as “carriers” for the disease. The bacteria are sensitive to high temperatures, however and can usually be destroyed by fully cooking poultry and eggs. This suggestion may not go down well with people who like to eat “sunny side up” fried eggs; but like Salmonella, avoiding partially cooked poultry and eggs is a small price to pay rather than spending all night on the toilet.

Another danger of this disease is dehydration caused by excessive diarrhoea: “The disease is more widespread than many people think. But it can be largely prevented by properly cooking poultry and eggs” says a spokesperson for Israel’s Agricultural Ministry.

Something to bear in mind next time, before ordering dishes like fried eggs or Eggs Benedict at morning brunches in Tel Aviv.

More about Poultry Related Bacteria and other diseases:

Simple Oregano keeps Chickens Disease Free

Egypt Launches Annual Anti Bird flu Campaign

Local Eggs, Industrial Eggs, and Salmonella

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