Foodborne & Waterborne Illnesses
Translations
Illnesses caused by eating food or drinking beverages contaminated with germs (bacteria, viruses, or parasites) or chemicals (such as some toxins) are known as foodborne illnesses. Swallowing contaminated recreational or drinking water (known as waterborne illnesses), contact with infected animals or their environment, or person-to-person spread can cause similar illness.
Symptoms of foodborne and waterborne illnesses commonly include upset stomach, abdominal cramps, fever, diarrhea, and/or vomiting. While most people recover within a few days and without treatment, some foodborne illnesses can cause serious complications, resulting in hospitalization, long-term health problems, or even death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that millions of Americans get sick with a foodborne illness each year.
How people become sick with foodborne or waterborne illnesses
People can become sick by:
- Eating or drinking contaminated food, beverages, or water
- Having contact with people who are sick
- Touching animals, their feces (poop), or their environment
- Touching their face or mouth after changing diapers
- Caring for a sick person or infected animals
- Touching contaminated objects, such as shoes and toys
- Swimming, wading in, or swallowing water from contaminated pools, lakes, rivers, streams, and other bodies of water
Food and beverages can become contaminated if:
- An infected person handles the food or beverage at home, outside the home, or during harvesting
- The food or beverage touches other food items or surfaces (such as cutting boards) that are contaminated
- There is contact with any contaminated equipment or environment when food or beverage is being made, transported, or distributed
- Contaminated water used to grow or wash the food item
- Contaminated fertilizer used when growing the food item
- Infected animals contaminate the food or beverage (such as unpasteurized dairy milk)
For more information on how food or beverages can become contaminated, check out CDC's page on How Foodborne Outbreaks Happen.
General prevention & food safety
You can lower your risk of getting sick or spreading illness to others by:
- Washing your hands with soap and water frequently
- Cleaning cooking surfaces with soap and water frequently
- Separating the food you prepare. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and eggs away from prepared and ready-to-eat foods
- Cooking foods to the right temperature to kill germs:
Food Temperature Poultry & leftovers 165° F Ground beef 160° F Pork 150° F Eggs & fish 145° F Beef 140° F - Chilling food in a refrigerator to keep germs from growing in the food
- Not preparing food or drinks for others when you are sick with diarrhea
- Keeping out of recreational waters, such as pools, hot tubs, and lakes when sick with diarrhea
Click here for more on Prevention & Food Safety
What to do if you think you may have a foodborne or waterborne illness
- See a healthcare provider to get tested
- If you are ill and suspect that food or water made you sick, report your illness to your local health department (in the county where you live). To find your local health department's phone number, click here and look under "County Contact Information".
What to expect from the health department if you get diagnosed with reportable foodborne or waterborne illness in New York State
If you get diagnosed with a reportable foodborne or waterborne illness, such as salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC), or other illnesses listed on our disease information page, someone from the health department may call you to ask about your illness and exposures you may have had before getting sick - such as what foods you ate, if you traveled or had contact with animals, and if you swam in or drank from various water sources.
