As a person with diabetes, you are not alone—there are many people in the United States with this chronic disease. Diabetes can affect various
organs and systems of your body, causing them not to function properly, and making you more susceptible to infection. For example:
• Your immune system, when functioning properly, readily ights off harmful bacteria and other pathogens that cause infection. With diabetes, your immune system may not readily recognize harmfulbacteria or other pathogens. This delay in the body’s natural response to foreign invasion places a person with diabetes at increased risk for infection.
• Your gastrointestinal tract, when functioning properly, allows the foods and beverages you consume to bedigested normally. Diabetes may damage the cellsthat create stomach acid and the nerves that helpyour stomach and intestinal tract move the foodthroughout the intestinal tract. Because of this damage, your stomach may hold on to the food andbeverages you consume for a longer period of time, allowing harmful bacteria and other pathogens to grow.
• Additionally, your kidneys, which work to cleanse the body, may not be functioning properly and may hold on to harmful bacteria, toxins, and other
pathogens.
• A consequence of having diabetes is that it may leave you more susceptible to developing infections—like those that can be brought on by disease-causing bacteria and other pathogens that cause foodborne illness. Should you contract a foodborne illness, you are more likely to have a lengthier illness, undergo hospitalization, or even die.
• To avoid contracting a foodborne illness, you must be vigilant when handling, preparing, and consuming foods.
