Foodborne Disease
Clinical Features
- More than 250 foodborne diseases have been described.
- Symptoms vary widely depending on etiologic agent.
- Diarrhea and vomiting are most common.
Etiologic Agent
Many different bacteria (such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli O157:H7), viruses, and parasites (such as Giardia), as well as natural and man-made chemicals (such as mushroom poison and heavy metals)
Incidence
Unknown. Estimates range from a minimum of 6 million to more than 80 million infections and intoxications/year in the U.S.
Sequelae
Septicemia, abortion, localized infections, arthritis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, paralysis, death.
Costs
Unknown. Medical costs and lost wages due to foodborne salmonellosis, only 1 of many foodborne infections, have been estimated to be more than $1 billion/year.
Transmission
- Ingestion of contaminated food.
- Person-to-person spread by fecal-oral route a major magnifier for some foodborne diseases.
Risk Groups
- All persons.
- Infants, elderly, and immunocompromised at increased risk of serious illness and death.
Surveillance
- Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (voluntary, passive, insensitive, and delayed).
- Laboratory-based surveillance for some foodborne pathogens (e.g., Salmonella and Campylobacter).
- Population-based studies of sporadic cases of specific foodborne diseases (e.g., listeriosis).
- Active Foodborne Disease Surveillance for laboratory diagnosed infections in 5 sentinel areas with population of 11.2 million began in 1996.
Trends
- Incidence of reported outbreaks has not changed in the last decade.
- Re-emergence of old foodborne diseases (e.g., salmonellosis from pet reptiles).
- Some diseases newly recognized as foodborne (e.g., listeriosis, hemolytic uremic syndrome).
- Increasing resistance of foodborne pathogens to antimicrobial agents.
Challenges
- Identify new foodborne pathogens.
- Define points of intervention.
- Implement and evaluate control strategies.
Opportunities
Identification of control points provides opportunity to directly intervene in the transmission of specific foodborne pathogens
Research Priorities
- Improve assessment tools by developing active surveillance and improved diagnostic methods.
- Quantify importance of specific products, processes, and behaviors.
March 1996
Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
