By: Jason Maxwell
Submitted: 2011-04-10 23:43:34 | Word Count: 450
Listeria is a type of bacteria which causes an illness called listeriosis. This type of bacteria is present in some houses. This microorganism may not sound very familiar to us, but our immune systems sure are. We can encounter this type of bacteria and we won't even notice it. That's because it only affects people who are immunocompromised, or those whose immune systems are not be at their best or are in a sensitive condition. Examples of immunocompromised individuals are pregnant women, cancer patients, infants and basically anyone who is battling some form of serious disease. However, this doesn't mean that because we are well, we can be reckless about the possibility of contracting listeriosis. All of us shouuld be careful since we'll never know when we may be most at risk.
Listeriosis is a disease we can get from eating meat and dairy products, such as hotdogs, cheeses and raw meat. Fortunately, the bacteria can be killed by heating. This means, you should never ever eat these foods unless you can reheat them. And they have to be steaming hot before you can put them in your mouth. If possible, avoid eating unpasteurized milk or food products made from it. Processed foods made from meat can also be carriers of the bacteria. Instead of eating soft cheeses, you can go for hard ones which are safer.
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When preparing your food in the kitchen, its important to clean everything youve used when handling foods that can be carriers of Listeria monocytogenes. See to it that you wash everything with soap, including the chopping board and other utensils you may have used. A very important thing to remember is to separate used utensils from those youve washed. When you put them together, the clean ones could be easily contaminated. Always make it a point to wash your hands thoroughly so you can avoid contaminating everything you touch after preparing you food as soon as youve cleaned everything, including your sink.
Flu-like symptoms can come with Listeriosis and they are generally harmless. The disease though can affect the central nervous system and manifest through symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, loss of balance and even convulsions for immunocompromised people. A pregnant woman may not experience any serious symptoms, but the disease can still be passed on to the fetus through the placenta and cause miscarriage, still birth or any other complications. Therefore, to be complete protected against the disease, the right precautions must be observed and the risk of infection should never be taken for granted.
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