Enteric infections Outbreaks of foodborne disease Eight outbreaks of suspected foodborne disease were investigated in March and April 2011. These outbreaks were identified through surveillance of laboratory notifications, or complaints to the NSW Food Authority (NSWFA) or the local public health unit (PHU). In three of these outbreaks the causative organism was established: one as Salmonella en...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified poor handwashing as a main factor in foodborne illness outbreaks (ServSafe, 2009). They suggested that failure to wash hands, or inadequate washing of hands, contributes to almost 50% of all foodborne illness outbreaks. We conducted an observational study of diners’ handwashing behaviors in restaurant restrooms in terms of gender, ...

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is found throughout the marine environment and is a major cause of foodborne illness around the world. Foodborne illnesses due to V. parahaemolyticus infections frequently trace back to the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood. The ability to detect V. parahaemolyticus in a rapid, sensi­ tive, and specific manner is important to safeguard our food supply and prevent...

Foodborne illness is a significant public health problem in America. The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) launched a national Food Thermometer Education Campaign (FTEC) to educate the public to use food thermometers more regularly. FSIS applied social marketing processes to a portion of its FTEC to identify and move a specific target pop...

Ergo is a naturally processed indigenous fermented dairy product, which is commonly prepared at household level and consumed in Ethiopia. The fermentation of this product is lactic acid bacterial dominated process. During this study 500 lactic acid bacterial isolates were recovered from ergo and tested for antagonism against four foodborne pathogens (E. coli O57:H7, Salmonella typhimurium DT104...

BACKGROUND Burden of disease estimates, which combine mortality and morbidity into a single measure, are used increasingly for priority setting in disease control, prevention and surveillance. However, because there is no clear exclusion criterion for highly prevalent minimal disease in burden of disease studies its application may be restricted. The aim of this study was to apply a newly devel...

1. Symptomatic toxoplasmosis should be made notifiable A primary consideration is the burden of disease caused by Toxoplasma in the UK. The report concludes that there are not sufficient data to assess the burden of disease due to toxoplasmosis in the UK, but that it will probably not be significantly different from the assessments made in the USA and the Netherlands. The paper (cited in the re...

During the past century, the microbiological safety of the US food supply has improved; however, many foodborne illnesses and outbreaks occur annually. Hence, opportunities for the food industry to improve the safety of both domestic and imported food exist through the adoption of risk-based preventive measures. Challenging food safety issues that are on the horizon include demographic changes ...

We present a patient with no medical history admitted for jaundice and dark coloured urine. Further investigations revealed hepatitis A related acute liver failure while the patient had no travel history, nor contact with infected individuals. After admission, the patient deteriorated fulfilling the King's College criteria for acute liver failure. Two days after admission, he underwent liver tr...

The public health effects of illness caused by foodborne pathogens in Greece during 1996-2006 was quantified by using publicly available surveillance data, hospital statistics, and literature. Results were expressed as the incidence of different disease outcomes and as disability-adjusted life years (DALY), a health indicator combining illness and death estimates into a single metric. It has be...