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Food Focus May 2006

Case study

Stephanie realised she was unwell after a sudden onset of watery diarrhea on Friday which got worse as the day went on. She felt sapped of energy and suffered tummy pains throughout the night. The next day she stayed in bed and did so for the rest of the weekend. She felt very unwell, and had no appetite but kept up her fluid intake.

On Monday she went to the doctor and submitted a sample for testing. Her appetite had partially returned but only for bread and dry crackers. For the rest of the week, although the diarrhea gradually slowed, she felt wiped out and looked waxen and grey.

She finally returned to her full time work in a city office the following Monday (11 days after onset). Test results confirmed her illness as Campylobacteriosis.

Nobody else in her family suffered the same symptoms and Stephanie had not eaten out during the fortnight preceding her illness. An investigation revealed it was most likely that she contracted the bug by touching a contaminated food surface when cooking chicken at home.