According to recent research, food poisoning can lead to Guillian-Barre Syndrome, reactive arthritis or hemolytic uremic syndrome- diseases that can leave victims with chronic pain, paralysis and kidney damage.

            The kidney damage, which affects mostly young children, is the result of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition which destroys blood cells, damages blood vessels and attacks the kidneys.

            90% of these cases occur in children under three and it is usually the result of eating foods contaminated with E. coli bacteria, such as undercooked ground beef, steaks, roasts, unpasteurized fruit juice, cider, milk, and lettuce, which has become contaminated through fertilized or tainted water.

            Paralysis is a sign of Guillian-Barre Syndrome, a condition in which the body’s immune system strips away the protective sheath on the nerves of the brain and the spinal cord.  What begins as a tingling sensation can turn into paralysis within days.

            The cause isn’t known, but more than 50% of cases begin after a bacterial or viral infection- most of which are triggered by an infection that can last weeks or even a lifetime.

            The report warned it’s hard to determine whether complications will be long-term, as symptoms may not appear until weeks after a person recovers from the initial diarrhea or other gastrointestinal disorders.

Source: Nutrition Action Health Letter, Center for Science in theh public Interest, May 2002, pp 1-5.