Foodborne illnesses comprise a broad spectrum of diseases and are responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is a growing public health problem in developing as well as developed countries. It is difficult to determine the exact mortality associated with foodborne illnesses (Helms et al., 2003). However, worldwide an estimated 2 million deaths occurred due to gastrointest...

The RUsick2 Foodborne Disease Forum at the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center increased reporting of foodborne diseases to more than four times the rate seen in the previous 2 years. Since November 2002, the Forum has allowed pilot-area residents with sudden-onset vomiting or diarrhea to share and compare information regarding what they ate and did before becoming sick. The purpose is t...

Letters Letters Letters Letters Letters similar to Campylobacter than to Salmonella ratios? The total estimated cases of these illnesses would increase by a factor of 40. The inadequacy of simply applying a Salmonella-based multiplier to the number of cases reported from outbreaks can be demonstrated by applying that multiplier to the total number of cases reported in all foodborne disease outb...

Infectious diseases transmitted by foods have become a major public health concern in recent years. Response by both the food industry and public health and food safety regulatory agencies to new microbiologic health threats and reemerging pathogens in foods has been primarily reactive. The multiplicity of factors and complex interactions involved in the emergence and reemergence of microbial f...

This article analyzes the inspectional data for the food protection program at the Cincinnati Health Department prior to the implementation of a standardization program for food inspections and food inspection training. The main objectives of the authors' study were to assess if current foodborne illness risk factors were associated with different risk classes of food establishments and the rel...

The occurrence of foodborne disease remains a widespread problem in both the developing and the developed world. A systematic and quantitative evaluation of food safety is important to control the risk of foodborne diseases. World-wide, many initiatives are being taken to develop quantitative risk analysis. However, the quantitative evaluation of food safety in all its aspects is very complex, ...

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In 2000, the OzFoodNet network was established to enhance surveillance of foodborne diseases across Australia. OzFoodNet consists of 7 sites and covers 68 per cent of Australia's population. During 2001, sites reported 15,815 cases of campylobacteriosis, 6,607 cases of salmonellosis, 326 cases of shigellosis, 71 cases of yersiniosis, 61 cases of listeriosis, 47 cases of shiga-toxin producing E....