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- $Unique_ID{BRK00445}
- $Pretitle{}
- $Title{The Risk of Infection and Diarrhea From Raw Eggs}
- $Subject{eggs Salmonella Infections diet diets food foods intestinal infection
- enteritis raw egg cook cooked cooking diarrhea fever headache vomiting fevers
- headaches}
- $Volume{A-26}
- $Log{}
-
- Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
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-
- The Risk of Infection and Diarrhea From Raw Eggs
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- QUESTION: My friend claims he has a great recipe for the "morning after"
- blues. He mixes a raw egg with a lot of other junk and claims his head clears
- right up. I told him he could catch an infection and diarrhea with this
- concoction but he won't listen. Please tell him about the risk he runs.
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- ANSWER: The risk of developing a Salmonella intestinal infection from raw
- eggs has increased rather dramatically over the last several years. In
- Northeastern United States it has jumped five fold between 1975 and 1985.
- While not all cases may be blamed on the eating of raw eggs, at least 29
- outbreaks of enteritis associated with raw egg consumption were reported in
- the same area of our country in a two year period. While the method by which
- eggs become contaminated is not always easy to determine, prevention of the
- infection is simple enough. Eggs, like other foods that are composed of
- animal products, should be cooked thoroughly before eating. A cooking heat
- where the internal temperature of the food reaches at least 165 degrees
- Fahrenheit is recommended. The myth that raw eggs are somehow a special
- "health food", or have specific powers to erase the ill effects of night of
- alcoholic indulgence, can be totally discounted, despite the claims for
- miracle morning after concoctions. The risk of salmonella infection, with its
- symptoms of mild to severe diarrhea, fever, headache and occasionally
- vomiting, is far more real, and include the possibility of loss of life. You
- are doing your friend a real service with your accurate advice, and perhaps
- showing him this answer to your question may help him, and others during this
- time of holiday celebration.
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-
- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
- the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
- doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
- problem.
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-