FOODS AND PUBLIC HEALTH II 



ctis aureus. This bacterium is the usual cause of boils and of pus-forming in- 

 fections following skin injuries such as cuts, bruises, and puncture wounds 

 as from splinters. As early as 1914, it was suggested that the Staphylococcus 

 was the cause of milk poisoning, but it was not until 1930 that the discovery 

 was made (19, 20, 21) that Staphylococcus aureus was the cause of certain 

 outbreaks of food poisoning, and that several kinds of foods served as car- 

 riers. Cream-filled pastries and cakes are frequent sources of Staphylococcus 

 food poisoning, but other kinds of foods have been involved. The symp;oms 

 of Staphylococcus food poisoning infections are much like those caused by 

 the Salmonella group of bacteria, and outbreaks of infections by both groups 

 of bacteria have much the same characteristics. The outbreak of Salmonella 

 food poisoning described above could just as well have been caused by a Staph- 

 ylococcus: the story would have been practically the same. Some authorities 

 are inclined to think that outbreaks of food poisoning are caused more often by 

 Staphylococci than by bacteria of the Sahnonclla group. The method of infect- 

 ing foods is practically identical for both kinds of bacteria, and accumulating 

 information seems to indicate that about the same list of foods can carry 

 either type of infection. 



Other groups of bacteria have been suspected of being the cause of food 

 poisoning. This is especially true of the Proteus group, but available informa- 

 tion about this group is not convincing. It is not unlikely, however, that 

 future investigations will incriminate other bacteria than those now recognized 

 as causes of food poisoning. 



Protective Measures 



Regardless of the kinds of bacteria responsible for food poisoning, the 

 public can use the same methods of protecting itself from danger of infection. 

 These methods may be briefly summed up, as follows: (1) Food should be 

 purchased only from dealers known to have clean premises, and to ofifer good 

 quality merchandise. Such establishments should control rats, mice, and 

 insects in their markets and storage places. (2) If one eats in a restaurant 

 or other public eating place, he should patronize only a first-class place where 

 food is known to be prepared in a clean kitchen, and of clean materials. 

 (3) Public health ofificials should exercise careful supervision over all quarters 

 where food is offered or prepared for sale. This supervision should include 

 investigation of the health and personal habits of persons engaged, in any 

 way, in the preparation or handling of food. (4) In preparing meals in the 

 home, food should be thoroughly cooked, and refrigeration should be prompt 

 and adequate when perishable food is stored. It may be stated here that there 

 is practically no danger of food poisoning from fresh fruits and vegetables 

 eaten raw. 



BOTULISM 



In food poisoning, as it has been discussed above, the bacteria themselves 

 set up disease conditions in the intestines of persons who eat contaminated 

 food. The bacteria may, and probably do, produce toxins, but only as the 

 disease progresses. So far as is know-n, they do not produce any substantial 

 amount of toxin in food before it is eaten ; and their toxin, wherever it is 

 produced, is not a deadly poison as is the toxin of botulism. In contrast, the 

 bacteria responsible for botulism manufacture their toxin in food during the 

 process of food spoilage, and when the spoiled food is eaten, it is the toxin 

 that does the damage, not the bacteria. Scientific evidence indicates that the 

 bacteria of botulism can be taken into the body without any harm resulting. 



