Food-borne pathogens carry devastating long-term effects

Long after the painful stomach cramps and bloody diarrhea associated with tainted food are over, many people suffer long-term health effects, mostly unrecognized, that are the result of food-borne pathogens. These lingering effects -- premature death, paralysis, kidney failure and a lifetime of seizures or mental disability -- may cause more disability, lost productivity, doctor visits and hospitalizations than the acute illnesses that follow exposure to a food-borne toxin.

By Melissa Healy

November 14, 2009