The1880s werealso the decade whenbacterialfoodpoisoningdisplaced
ptomaine poisoning. In the late 1870s,German researchers had begunto draw
attention to connectionsbetweensepticand pyaemic^3 diseases in animals used
for foodand meatpoisoning outbreaks.In the early 1880stheystartedto
investigate meatpoisoningoutbreaks bacteriologically(describedby Ostertag,
1902).
Hardhistorical informationaboutthe incidencerate of foodborne infections
in the 19thcentury is lacking. One of the reasonsis that foodpoisoningwas not
notifiable. (In the UK foodpoisoning becamenotifiable in 1939.) There are,
however, two indicators for the behaviourof foodinfections in cities: typhoid
and epidemicdiarrhoea. Typhoid emerged in the UK as a majorurbanhazard in
the 1830sand waslargely water-borne. Theroleof humancarriersand of
contaminatedfoodstuffs is likelyto havebeensignificant.Deathratesfrom
typhoid fell rapidly between 1870and 1885,as urbanwatersupplies were
improved, but thenstabiliseduntilearlyin the 20thcentury(Greenwood,1935).
Withthe discoveryof the humancarrier and of foodstuffs as a vehicleof
infection, and withgreater (hygienic)careof patients,death ratesfell rapidly
and disappearedaround 1920.Epidemic diarrhoea contributedevenmoreto
foodpoisoning. The termencompasses infantdiarrhoea, the conditionrespon-
siblefor some 30%of infant mortality before 1901.Huck'slocalstudies(Huck,
1994)showed that risinginfantmortalitywas closelyassociated withthe growth
of industrial townsin the early19thcentury.Othercontemporary studies found
that infantdeathwas onlythe visibletip of the icebergof extensivefamilial
episodesof diarrhoea (Woodset al., 1988)whichemphasised a veryhighdegree
of multiple infections in households. It was Ballard(1887,citedby Hardy,1999)
who linked the infections with contaminated foodstuffs. When the first
bacteriologicalanalysesof epidemic diarrhoeacame to performed,the leading
contenders for causation came from bacteria belonging to the family of
Salmonellae (Niven,1909±1910). In 1888the German Ga»rtner (1888)dis-
coveredand described theSalmonellabacterium,which he namedBacillus
enteritidis. He demonstratedthe presenceof the organismin a slaughtered cow
thathad causedgastroenteritis in the people whohad eatenits meat.The
discovery of othersuchorganismsquickly followedin the pioneeringbacterio-
logicallaboratories of the 1890sand actuallythe identification of specificagents
of diseasebecamea competitivegame.Despitenew isolation and identification
techniques, the bacteriology of foodpoisoningand infectionappearedto be an
immensely complicatedsubject, partlybecause of the numberof different
organismsapparently involvedin the process,and partlybecause of the vexed
questions of theirnature and natural habit.For example, questions aboutwhether
Salmonellawas a natural inhabitantof the intestinal tractof human and animals,
wasSalmonellapresentin the fleshof the animalor was it present onlyin
diseased animals needed to be solved.
- The invasionof bloodstreamby pyogenic(pus-forming) organisms.
Introduction 7