Infections Carried by Animals
This summer's salmonella outbreak highlights the risk we run of being infected by animal diseases.
In Case Notes this week, Dr Mark Porter discusses how animal-borne infections find their way into us.
Zoonoses is the official term for this field of study. In the UK there has been a decade of relentless outbreaks, from BSE to Scrapie to foot and mouth.
Common bugs include salmonella, E. coli and campylobacter, which are just three of the serious food-poisoning bugs that together affect 100,000 people in England and Wales each year and account for 100 to 200 deaths.
Antibiotic Resistance
Poor food hygiene is one of the main culprits - as reporter Lesley Hilton discovers when she opens up her kitchen to the health inspectors.
Also in the programme - find out why the continued use of antibiotics in farming is creating strains of drug-resistant superbugs, which end up in our stomachs.
Are Vegetarians safe?
And even vegetarians aren't necessarily safe from zoonoses infections.
Lyme's disease, for example, comes from the bite of the deer tick, and seems to be on the increase in Britain's Forests, as Mark Porter finds out in Case Notes on Tuesday 30th September 2003 at 9pm on Radio 4. Or you can listen to the programme afterwards by clicking the listen again link.
Next Week: Discussion on Getting the Best out of the NHS - Case Notes on 7th October 2003
If you would like to put a question to our panel of experts on how to get the best out of the NHS, now's the time to get in touch.
In our last programme in the series in the second week of October, we will be putting your queries to our panel.
So if you would like to hear an insider's view on problems such as how to find the perfect GP, how to avoid unnecessary waits to see a specialist, or how to go about seeking a second opinion, then please send your query in via post or email, and we'll do our best to answer it.
Our address is Case Notes, PO Box 76, London,WC2B 4PH, or you can email us at case.notes@bbc.co.uk.
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