E.coli? WHERE?!?

Norway (yep, that's the place where I live), is currently in a state of horror. An E.coli-bacteria has slipped through our tight immigration policy, and as a result several kids have died. One effect is of course a drastic rise on opinion polls for the political party "Fremskrittspartiet", as their main objective is to build a 20-feet wall along our border. (For those interested in politics, they now share the number one spot with the socialist "Arbeiderpartiet".)

The other effect is mass hysteria when it comes to eating meat.

What is E.coli anyway?

Escherichia coli, named after its discoverer Theodor Escherich, is a bacteria living in the lower intestines of warm-blooded animals. It is mostly harmless, but certain strains can cause food poisoning. It can be lethal, especially to kids and elders, but only at a rate of 2-5 % or so.

See Wikipedia for more information.

So, back to the point. I was having lunch yesterday. Well, I actually have lunch every day, but this particular lunch turned out more interesting than most. I had bought some sausages from the local grocery store, and being a realistic kind of guy, I didn't much bother about the E.coli hysteria. That was until I read the news. At 12 o'clock the national researches working on the E.coli situation finally discovered what they think is the source. In a press announcement, they warned people against a certain brand of sausage with certain product numbers, produced in a certain period of time. "Oh..."

Well, here I am, waiting for the illness to strike. The bacteria has an incubation time of 2-14 days, so it could take a while. But I'm optimistic. If I should get ill, (the chances are quite low), I'm confident that I'll survive. I even took a picture to show my grandchildren.

I call it "the day grandpa stared death in the eye, and laughed at it". (Sorry about the quality, snatched it with my cell phone).

Oh, and I'm being a bit overdramatic...

Tags: life, health