Who Are the Most Common Victims of Food Poisoning?

People get food poisoning when they eat foods contaminated with bacteria or other toxins, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Common symptoms include stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting and may begin to appear several hours after one eats the contaminated food. The center says more than 75 million people get food poisoning annually -- often in the summer -- due to inadequate refrigeration, which allows bacteria to grow.

Travelers

• Travelers are more likely to get food poisoning, according to UM Medical Center. According to the Penn State Medical Center, those who travel outside the United States have a higher likelihood of encountering poor sanitation and contaminated water and foods.

Weakened Immune Systems

• People with medical conditions or who are taking certain medications are more susceptible to food poisoning than are healthy individuals. Their immune systems are already weakened and therefore unable to fight off with food poisoning effectively.

  People with such medical conditions as chronic kidney problems, liver disease, diabetes and sickle-cell anemia are at higher risk than healthy people, according to the Food Safety and You web site. Individuals with weakened immune systems due to organ transplants, autoimmune diseases, asthma and AIDS are more likely to get food poisoning than those with healthy immune systems, according to authors David Schardt and Stephen Schmidt.

  If you regularly take immunosuppressant drugs, antibiotics, antihistamines, steroid medications, antacids or other digestive drugs, you are more prone to food poisoning than are those who do not take these medications.

Pregnant Women

• Pregnant women are common victims of food poisoning because their immune systems "relax" as their bodies accommodate the development of the fetus, according to William Bishai, an infectious diseases specialist at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. A body working to support two lives is already "working overtime" and cannot fight off food poisoning.

Infants and Young Children

• Because their immune systems aren't fully developed, babies and children are more susceptible to food poisoning. Regular exposure to germs and bacteria helps build up the immune system; since infants and young children have not been exposed as much as adults, their immune systems are still weak and cannot combat food--borne illness.

Elderly People

• Seniors are at high risk for food poisoning because of the aging process, according to Ohio State University's "Seniors Series." Factors include a declining immune system and a less acidic stomach, leaving seniors less able to fight off food-borne illnesses, and failing sensory organs, which hinder their senses of sight and smell, preventing them from detecting spoiled foods.