BACTERIA Bacteria are a common cause of foodborne illness.

In the United Kingdom during 2000 the individual bacteria involved were as follows: Campylobacter

jejuni 77.3%, Salmonella 20.9%, Escherichia coli O157:H7 1.4%, and all others less than 0.1%. In the past, bacterial infections were thought to be more prevalent because few places had the capability to test for norovirus and no active surveillance was being done for this particular agent. Symptoms for bacterial infections are delayed because the bacteria need time to multiply. They are usually not seen until 1272 hours or more after eating contaminated food.