Infectious disease control
The service receives notifications from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) of cases of certain infectious diseases and food borne illnesses in the Redcar and Cleveland area.
Patients may then be contacted by an Environmental Health Officer to try to identify the cause and prevent the spread of infection in the community.
Examples of Infectious Diseases
Examples of the infections that may be notified are:
- Salmonella
- Ecoli 0157
- Cryptosporidium
- Giardia
- Listeria
- Hepatitis
- Legionella
- Campylobacter
How can Infectious Diseases be contracted?
An Environmental Health Officer may ask the patient where they have been and what they have ate or drank. This is to try to work out how the infection has been picked up.
They will also consider if there is a risk of passing it on to other people.
Food borne illness may have been contracted abroad, particularly during holiday periods or contracted locally, either at home, eating out locally or attending events such as birthday parties and weddings and BBQ's.
Some illnesses are waterborne and therefore can be contracted by paddling/playing and swimming in rivers, lakes, and streams, or by participating in water sports.
Other sources of contamination are from petting zoos and farms where handwashing facilities are not readily available.
What do I do if I suspect I may have contracted an Infectious Disease?
If you suspect you have an infectious disease or are suffering from a food borne illness, in the first instance you should seek medical advice.
In the case of food borne illnesses it is likely that your doctor will ask you to provide a stool sample to be sent away for analysis.
Any positive results for a food borne illness would be notified to us by UKHSA.
If you have attended an event, such as a birthday party or wedding, and a number of people in the party are suffering from food poisoning symptoms, and the venue in in our area, contact us at the earliest opportunity after seeking medical advice.
Contact Details
Environmental Health (Commercial) Team,
- Telephone number: 01287 612421
- Email: food.team@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk