Parents are advised to call their pediatrician as
soon as yersiniosis symptoms appear in a child to
prevent the infection from leading to other health
problems. The Nemours Foundation offers the fol-
lowing guidelines to parents:
Never allow a child to eat raw or undercoooked meat.
Give a child only pasteurized milk or milk products.
Wash hands with soap and water before eating and
preparing food, before touching infants and after
contact with animals or handling raw meat.
Use separate cutting boards for meat and other
foods.
Clean all cutting boards, countertops, and utensils with
soap and hot water after using them for raw meat.
Keep them away from baby bottles and dishwares.
Always cook meat thoroughly, especially pork products.
Dispose of animal feces and sanitize anything it has
come into contact with.
Avoid drinking directly from natural water sources
such as ponds and mountain streams, especially if
there nearby farms where cattle, pigs, or goats are
raised.
When caring for a family member who has diarrhea,
wash hands thoroughly before touching other people
and before handling food.
If a pet dog or cat has diarrhea, wash hands fre-
quently and have them checked by a veterinarian
for treatment.Resources
BOOKS
Carniel, E.Yersinia: Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Oxford, UK: Taylor & Francis, 2005.
International Commission on Microbiological Specifica-
tions of Foods (ICMSF).Microorganisms in Foods 6:
Microbial Ecology of Food Commodities (Microorgan-
isms in Foods).New York, NY: Springer, 2005.
Leon, W.Is Our Food Safe: A Consumer’s Guide to Protect-
ing Your Health and the Environment.New York, NY:
Three Rivers Press (Crown Publishing Group), 2002.
McDevitt, B. L.Diarrhea.Frederick, MD: PublishAmerica
Inc., 2005.
Wilson, C. L., Droby, S.Microbial Food Contamination.
Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2000.
ORGANIZATIONS
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 1600 Clif-
ton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30333. 1-800-CDC-INFO
(1-800-232-4636) or 404-639-3534.<www.cdc.gov>.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition. 5100 Paint Branch
Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-3835. 1-888-
SAFEFOOD (1-888-723-3663).<vm.cfsan.fda.gov>.United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food
Safety and Inspection Service. Meat and Poultry Hot-
line: 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854).<www.fsis
.usda.gov>.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 1200 Penn-
sylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460. 202-
272-0167.<www.epa.gov>.Monique Laberge, Ph.D.Zinc
Definition
Zinc is a trace element considered a micronutrient,
meaning a nutrient needed in very small amounts. It is
found in almost every living cell. The significance of
zinc in human nutrition and public health was recog-
nized relatively recently (1961) and it is now consid-
ered to have a wide range of essential biological roles
in maintaining life and health.Purpose
Zinc is considered essential to maintain health. It
is required for the activity of numerous metalloen-
zymes involved in metabolism, it maintains the
immune system that protects the body against disease,
and also supports normal growth and development
during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence. It
plays three crucial roles:
Catalytic role: Enzymes are proteins that are vitally
important for speeding up the biochemical reactions
(catalysis) of cells and organisms and nearly 200 dif-
ferent ones depend on zinc. Zinc-dependent enzymes
can be found in all known classes of enzymes.
Structural role: Zinc also maintains the structure of
proteins and cell membranes. A finger-like structure,
called a zinc finger motif, strengthens the structure of
several important proteins and enzymes. For
instance, that of the antioxidant copper-zinc super-
oxide dismutase enzyme. Copper is required for the
catalytic activity of the enzyme, but zinc plays a
critical structural role. Zinc also affects the structure
and function of cell membranes, which become more
likely to be damaged by harmful oxidative species
(oxidative stress) with zinc loss.
Regulatory role: Zinc finger proteins are also involved
in the regulation of gene expression by binding to
DNA and influencing the copying of specific genes.
Zinc also plays a role in the regulation of cell signalingZinc