Research Publications (Food Safety)

Background Shigellosis, traditionally a foodborne and waterborne infection, causes substantial morbidity globally.

As of May 18, 2022, 369 cases of confirmed and probable Salmonella Typhimurium linked to chocolate products from Belgium have been reported globally. Udani Samarasekera reports. Multiple countries have been affected by an outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (hereafter S Typhimurium) linked to chocolate products produced in Belgium and distributed to at least 113 nations globally.

Background Non-typhoidal salmonella can cause serious, life-threatening invasive infections involving the bloodstream and other normally sterile sites.

It has not been a good year for faecal microbiota transplantation.

SF2a-TT15 was safe and well tolerated and induced high titres of anti-SF2a LPS IgG antibodies. These results support further evaluation of this original synthetic oligosaccharide-protein conjugate vaccine candidate for safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy in target populations.

Controversy surrounds the ranking by clinical importance of diarrhoeal disease pathogens.

The use of antibiotics anywhere could select antibiotic-resistant bacteria everywhere. Reducing the use of antibiotics in farm animals is consequently fundamental to preserve the current and future benefits of antibiotics for people.

We read with interest the study by Michaela J Day and colleagues,1 which announced that the correlation between foodborne extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli and human-derived isolates was low, and that the human-to-human, oral–faecal route contributed more to the transmission of human-derived ESBL-producing E coli than the food chain.

The encouraging safety and immunogenicity of ETVAX and benefit of dmLT adjuvant in young children support its further assessment for protective efficacy in children in enterotoxigenic E coli-endemic areas.

An estimated 700 000 soldiers belonging to the Union Army and the Confederate States Army died in the 1861–65 American Civil War.1 Many camp epidemics attributed to dysentery, typhoid fever, measles, smallpox, cholera, and malaria spread quickly among the troops, affecting the Confederate Army more and surely to some extent shaping the outcome of the war.2

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a leading cause of diarrhoea in children in low-income and middle-income countries (children's diarrhoea) and international travellers (travellers' diarrhoea).1,2 ETEC strains produce heterogeneous fimbrial or non-fimbrial adhesins (of which there are >25), which attach bacteria to host receptors for colonisation in human small intestines and deliver heat-labile and heat-stable enterotoxins to small intestine epithelia to disrupt homoeostasis and

In The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the GBD 2017 Non-Typhoidal Salmonella Invasive Disease Collaborators1 estimate the global burden of invasive non-typhoidal salmonella disease using Bayesian meta-regression tools. The results show a high but decreasing number of cases since 2005 with a continuously high case fatality rate, consistent with previous estimates.

On June 13, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)1 issued a safety alert concerning the risk of serious adverse reactions due to transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms through faecal microbiota transplantations (FMTs). This alert was in response to transmission of an extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli strain from a faeces donor to two immunocompromised recipients.

Three deaths have been reported in the biggest ever outbreak of listeriosis in Spain, which was first reported on Aug 16. As of Sept 6, 204 cases of listeria infection have been reported in Andalusia, with most cases reported in Seville (n=162). The outbreak has been linked to a pork product made by a company based in Seville. The factory has been closed and the pork products recalled from shops. Five women have also had miscarriages due to their illness.