Report a Food Borne Illness

• The Evanston Health & Human Services Department investigates all food-borne illnesses by interviewing the sick individual(s) to obtain symptoms and the food eaten before performing a site investigation.
• Typically, food-borne illnesses occur between 6 and 72 hours after food is consumed. If you are sick from food and your symptoms worsen, it is important to consult your physician.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 48 million cases of foodborne disease occur each year in the United States. The great majority of these cases are mild and cause symptoms for only a day or two. Some cases are more serious, and the CDC estimates that there are 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths related to foodborne diseases each year. The most severe cases tend to occur in the very old, the very young, those who have an illness already that reduces their immune system function, and in healthy people exposed to a very high dose of an organism.

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