These two similar groups of bacteria are normally found in animals such as cattle and poultry, and egg products.
What are the symptoms? - Campylobacter and Salmonella are germs which can cause diarrhoea, stomach pains, sickness and a high temperature.
How do they spread? - They can be caught from contaminated food, milk or water, or from exposure to infected farm animals or sick pets. In most cases it is not possible to identify the source of infection. Person to person spread is unusual but occasionally occurs within a household or from food handlers with poor personal hygiene.
How do I treat the symptoms? - Symptoms usually last for between 2 and 7 days, and normally clear without any treatment. Medical advice should be sought in cases affecting the elderly and the very young.
What is the incubation period? - This is the delay between the germ entering your body and you becoming unwell. It is usually 3 to 5 days although it can be any time from 1 to 10 days.
How do I stop it spreading? -
Thoroughly cook all food, especially meat, poultry and eggs. Always keep cooked food separate from raw food.
Wash you hands thoroughly with hot soapy water after any contact with animals, after visiting the toilet, before preparing food, after changing nappies, after dealing with an infected child, and before eating.
Always follow good food hygiene practices.
How do I prevent it? -
Avoid eating undercooked poultry and raw meat. Try to achieve a high enough internal temperature when cooking large joints or poultry.
Keep hot food hot and cold food cold. Bacteria need food, warmth, moisture, and time to grow and multiply. In order to prevent bacteria from growing, keep hot foods HOT (above 63oC) and cold foods COLD (below 8oC).
When shopping, pick up the perishable foods last, especially in hot weather, and get them home and into the refrigerator quickly. Use a thermometer to make sure your refrigerator is at 8oC or lower. In most cases, prompt cooling and proper refrigeration of food can hold the number of bacteria to a safe level.
Handle the following foods with care -
Eggs and egg-rich foods: Keep eggs and food containing eggs refrigerated. Cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and white are firm, not runny, in order to kill any bacteria that may be present.
Meat, poultry, and fish:To safely thaw frozen meat or poultry take it out of the freezer and leave it overnight in the refrigerator. Normally, it will be ready to use the next day.
Caution: Do not thaw meat and poultry on the kitchen counter. Bacteria can multiply rapidly at room temperature.
Store fresh or thawed raw meat, poultry, and seafood in the refrigerator. Be careful that drippings do not contaminate other foods. Put a tray or pan under refrigerated meats, fish and poultry to prevent the juices from dripping onto foods on lower racks. Keep raw meat on the bottom shelf.
If possible, have two cutting boards, one for raw meat, fish and poultry and the other for cooked foods and salads. A hard nonporous cutting board is better than a wooden cutting board for preventing the spread of bacteria.
Make sure that meat and poultry are cooked all the way through.
Extra care must be taken when using a microwave oven to cook meat. Cooking in a microwave can cause "cold spots," areas that do not reach as high a temperature as other areas.
Freezing does not kill the bacteria in food; it simply stops their growth. They continue to multiply after the food is thawed.
Should I stay away from work or school? -
If you have sickness or diarrhoea you should stay away from work/school until you have had no symptoms for at least 48 hours. You do not need to stay away if you have been in contact with someone who has campylobacter but have no symptoms yourself.
If you are a food handler or working with vulnerable groups, eg older people or children, you should stay away from work until you have not had any symptoms for at least 2 days.
