In the last month, many people have foregone seeking medical attention due to fear of coming into contact with COvid-19, or Coronavirus. It is true that there are still many thousands of nosocomial infections in the U.S., most prominently including urinary tract infections, surgical-site infections, and various pneumonias. The latter is often associated with ventilator use. Two all-to-common bacterial infections include Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile (CD). As such, nosocomial infections are a legitimate fear anytime. But the added fear of the Corona virus, with its ease-of-transmission, has led to many hospitals and medical facilities looking like graveyards.
This irony is almost palatable, with empty hospitals and silent medical offices at a time when the greatest fear has been the fear that Corona virus patients will overwhelm these very facilities. And yet that is where many communities are. The social distancing that has kept medical facilities and hospitals from being overwhelmed is also keeping many people away who might be seriously ill. The choice to “ride out” an illness at home, always a decision for those experiencing all but the most extreme injury, is more difficult because the scales now point toward a desire to avoid coming into contact with potentially infected persons. In short, there are a large number of people who want to take the chance of recovering at home, without medical treatment or testing, rather than take the chance of getting yet another ailment, and one like Covid that is potentially life threatening.
This new reality is made even more challenging by the fact that many health agencies are either overwhelmed or have made a conscious decision NOT to investigate, actively police, or prioritize potential food borne outbreaks. As such, many victims of food poisoning are caught in a “perfect storm,” so to speak.
According to national e. coli lawyer Ron Simon, whose practice focuses solely on food poisoning litigation, “so many of the victims of food poisoning , including those ill with e. coli from a recent outbreak linked to sprouts , or listeria victims who ate Enoki mushrooms, are not getting tested because they fear to go to a medical office or hospital. This means these victims do receive helpful information, such as what the pathogen is, what antibiotics it is susceptible to, or where the pathogen originated. And when health agencies are unable to investigate a food borne illness outbreak, that makes it very difficult to hone in on the source and prevent further illnesses. In addition, the proper testing and investigation by a health agency can make the process of filing a food poisoning lawsuit to recover for lost wages, medical expenses, and pain and suffering, much easier.”
Covid-19 is likely to be here for the foreseeable future, but so also are underlying health conditions such as diabetes, COPD, Lupus, and illnesses that are relatively common, and for most temporary, such as food poisoning, influenza, sinus infections, and activity-related bodily injuries. And while the health agencies are (understandably) under a certain amount of duress at the present moment, food safety needs to remain a priority. Victims in food borne illness outbreaks have a couple of options, including picking up a stool collection kit from their primary care physician or an urgent care facility, calling their county health agency to report cases of food-borne illness, and when warranted, perhaps contacting a law firm that specializes in food borne illness.
