Food Poisoning Leads to Lifelong Health Problems

People often assume that once the acute illness caused by food poisoning has passed, it no longer poses a health risk; however, new research shows that a number of debilitating diseases can strike food poisoning patients weeks, months, and even years after they appear to have recovered. Scientists have observed that many people develop hypertension, kidney damage, and renal failure 10 to 20 years after recovering from severe E. coli infection, and some patients develop arthritis after suffering a bout of salmonella or shigella. This news is especially ominous given the fact that food poisoning outbreaks have become more common, striking 76 million people in the US annually.