Foodborne Pathogens

Abstract

Foodborne disease continues to be a very serious and global threat. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that worldwide foodborne and waterborne diarrheal diseases taken together kill about 2.2 million people annually. In the United Kingdom, each year, it is estimated that about 1 million people suffer from a foodborne illness and that about 20 000 people will be hospitalized due to foodborne disease. In addition to these cases resulting from infection, around 500 deaths are the result of foodborne disease. All of this costs the United Kingdom nearly £1.5 billion. Worldwide, this same pattern exists, and in many cases, the situation is much worse, so it is easily understood why so much research into foodborne pathogens continues to be a high priority to the WHO and to individual country's governments and regulators. This article summarizes the articles in the encyclopedia that deal with foodborne pathogens. The reader is encouraged to refer to the individual articles for in-depth information on each pathogen.