There are many diseases that can be spread through our food and/or water supply. Several of these are zoonotic diseases; diseases of animal origin.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the most common food-borne diseases seen include Salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, and infection with pathogenic Escherichia coli (or E. coli).
How Do These Diseases Infect Our Food or Water Supply?
There are many ways this might happen. Many of the organisms that cause these infections are present in the intestinal tract of animals naturally. That means the human intestinal tract as well as that of the dog, cat, cow, pig, chicken and other animals as well. In some cases, contamination may occur because of a breach in hand hygiene when handling the food or contact with surfaces that are still harboring residue from another food source. Sometimes, meats may simply be left out too long, allowing bacteria to grow. If not cooked thoroughly enough to kill the bacteria, disease may result.
Contamination may also occur inadvertently if a cat or dog uses our vegetable or fruit garden as a potty and contaminates the soil.
Water supplies can be compromised as well, particularly well water sources.
Preventing the Spread of Food-Borne and Water-Borne Zoonotic Diseases
There are many precautions that should be routinely taken to prevent the spread of food- and water-borne diseases.
- All meats (beef, pork, poultry, etc.) should be cooked thoroughly before consumption.
- Careful attention should be paid to basic hygienic measures, particularly hand washing. You should wash your hands thoroughly and often. Your children should also. Hands should be washed after handling pet feces, after handling or changing diapers, before handling food, after handling raw meat and after handling your pet's food.
- Caution should be taken to prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen. Cutting boards should be cleaned thoroughly after each use and separate cutting boards should be used for preparing raw meats. Kitchen counters and other preparation surfaces should be cleaned carefully after each use. Kitchen utensils used to prepare and serve food and drink should be thoroughly cleaned as well.
- All fruits and vegetables should be washed before serving.
- Avoid drinking from any water source that is potentially contaminated. If necessary, drink bottled water or, at a minimum, boil the water for at least 5 minutes before drinking.
- Be cautious about drinking unpasteurized milk or consuming other unpasteurized dairy products.
- If you feed your pet a raw diet, be aware that there may be an increased risk of your pet shedding bacteria such as Salmonella or E. coli.
- Stay informed about recalls involving contamination in both human and pet foods.