Research Publications (Food Safety)

Vegetables, especially those eaten raw, have been implicated in several foodborne disease outbreaks. Since multiple vegetable matrices and hazards are involved, risk managers have to prioritize those with the greatest impact on public health to design control strategies. In this study, a scientific-based risk ranking of foodborne pathogens transmitted by leafy green vegetables in Argentina was performed.

Background The National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) captures data on foodborne, waterborne, and enteric illness outbreaks in the United States. This study describes enteric illness outbreaks reported during 11 years of surveillance. Methods We extracted finalized reports from NORS for outbreaks occurring during 2009–2019.

Background Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) burden, etiology, and severity in adults is not well characterized. We implemented a multisite AGE surveillance platform in 4 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (Atlanta, Georgia; Bronx, New York; Houston, Texas; and Los Angeles, California), collectively serving >320 000 patients annually.

Author(s): Omar Hernández Hernández, Ana L. Gutiérrez-Escolano, Cleo Cancio-Lonches, Montserrat H. Iturriaga, Juan Ramiro Pacheco-Aguilar, Rocío Morales-Rayas, Sofía M. Arvizu-Medrano A multiplex PCR method was developed for the simultaneous detection of murine norovirus (MNV-1) as a surrogate for human norovirus (HuNoV) GI and GII, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., and Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in fresh produce.

Introduction. The identification of enteropathogens is critical for the clinical management of patients with suspected gastrointestinal infection. The FLOW multiplex PCR system (FMPS) is a semi-automated platform (FLOW System, Roche) for multiplex real-time PCR analysis.

Background Diarrheal pathogens have been associated with linear growth deficits. The effect of diarrheal pathogens on growth is likely due to inflammation, which also adversely affects neurodevelopment. We hypothesized that diarrheagenic pathogens would be negatively associated with both growth and neurodevelopment.

The Florida Complaint and Outbreak Reporting System (FL-CORS) database is used by the Florida Department of Health’s Food and Waterborne Disease Program (FWDP) as one of the tools to detect foodborne disease outbreaks. We present a descriptive and spatial network analysis of the FL-CORS data collected during 2015-2018.

Abstract

Publication date: Available online 2 May 2018


Author(s): Adriana Calderaro, Monica Martinelli, Mirko Buttrini, Sara Montecchini, Silvia Covan, Sabina Rossi, Francesca Ferraglia, Paolo Montagna, Federica Pinardi, Sandra Larini, Maria Cristina Arcangeletti, Maria Cristina Medici, Carlo Chezzi, Flora De Conto

Diarrheal disease is a complex syndrome that remains a leading cause of global childhood morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis of enteric pathogens in a timely and precise manner is important for making treatment decisions and informing public health policy, but accurate diagnosis is a major challenge in industrializing countries. Multiplex molecular diagnostic techniques may represent a significant improvement over classical approaches.

Sara M. Pires, Christa L. Fischer-Walker, Claudio F. Lanata, Brecht Devleesschauwer, Aron J. Hall, Martyn D. Kirk, Ana S. R. Duarte, Robert E. Black, Frederick J. Angulo

Background

Publication date: Available online 3 September 2015

Author(s): Chen Zhang, Peihua Niu, Yanying Hong, Ji Wang, Jingyun Zhang, Xuejun Ma

Diarrhea causes significant morbidity and mortality in Indian children under 5 years of age. Flies carry enteric pathogens and may mediate foodborne infections. In this study, we characterized fly densities as a determinant of infectious diarrhea in a longitudinal cohort of 160 urban and 80 rural households with 1,274 individuals (27% under 5 years of age) in Vellore, India. Household questionnaires on living conditions were completed at enrollment.

Street vended foods are the vehicle of pathogens transmission resulting in foodborne diseases. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual public health risks framework of consuming road vended foods based on detailed review of existing literature in developing countries.

Paediatric acute gastroenteritis is a global public health problem.Comprehensive laboratory investigation for viral, bacterial and parasitic agents is helpful for improving management of acute gastroenteritis in health care settings and for monitoring and controlling the spread of these infections.Our study aimed to investigate the role of various pathogens in infantile diarrhoea in Bulgaria outside the classical winter epidemics of rotavirus and norovirus.Stool samples from 115 hospitalized