Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 3
FOODBORNE DISEASES
NABARUN DASGUPTA
School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
INTRODUCTION
Enteric infections are the second most common cause of mortality among children
less than five years of age in developing countries.
1
Poverty is a fundamental
cause of the high mortality associated with enteric infections in the developing
world. Issues such as a lack of safe drinking water, crowded living conditions,
lack of refrigeration, and inadequate sanitation all contribute to this problem.
Additionally, because of a lack of access to health care, enteric infections are more
often severe or fatal setting where there are barriers to adequate medical care. In
contrast, there is little mortality from enteric infections in industrialized countries.
Toward the beginning of the twentieth century, similar conditions were more
prevalent in North America and Europe; economic development and improved
living conditions are thought to have played a large role in the decrease in deaths
from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia by the 1930s.
2
Foodborne illnesses are estimated to cause 76 million illnesses, 325,000
hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year.
3
Infectious
agents spread by water and food cause both sporadic cases and large outbreaks.
Symptoms of these illnesses range from mild gastroenteritis to potentially
life-threatening conditions that may cause disability and death. In some
instances, as among the very young, the very old, and the immunocompromised,
the added strain of a water- or foodborne illness can be fatal. This chapter
covers major food- and waterborne diseases of public health importance,
including their epidemiology and prevention. Included in this chapter as
foodborne diseases are also those caused by poisonous plants and animals used
for food, toxins produced by bacteria, and foods accidentally contaminated with
chemical poisons. These diseases are usually, but not always, characterized by
ND would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank L. Hannah Gould for her exceptional contribu-
tions to this chapter and sustained assistance in providing updated sources.
