prevalence and molecular characteristics of vibrio species in pre ...

10
According to Feldhusen (2000), indigenous bacteria found at low levels in
seafood pose an insignificant hazard to the public health if the product is cooked
adequately. But a few bacteria associated with faecal contamination of seafood
(Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria, Yersinia, E. coli) continue to cause a large
scale health threat through seafood consumption. This is worse when people have
traditions of eating raw or under cooked seafood like in Japan. Food borne diseases
lead to a significant morbidity and mortalities annually, even in developed countries
where food safety is well regulated. In the United States seafood ranked third on the
list of products that cause food borne illnesses during 1983- 1992 (Lipp and Rose,
1997). Over the past 20 years 4% of shell fish associated outbreaks were from
bacterial pathogens of faecal contamination, while naturally occurring bacteria
accounted for 20% of shellfish-related illnesses and 99% of deaths. Most of the
indigenous bacteria belong to the genera’s of Vibrio, Aeromonas and Plesiomonas
(Lipp and Rose, 1997). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
estimates that approximately 76 million new cases of food-related illnesses and
resulting 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations occur in the United States each
year (Group, 2010).
Food borne illnesses has a significant impact on the economics of the public
and private sectors. A calculation of precise figures for the economic impact is
difficult with a high incidence of food borne related illnesses. The evaluation of cost
at a national level in Canada and United States based on the available data showed
that company losses and legal action are much higher than the medical/
hospitalization expenses, lost income or investigational costs. It was estimated that
one million acute bacterial food borne illnesses occur in Canada and 5.5 million cases
in US cost nearly $1.1 billion and $7 billion, respectively every year (Todd, 1989).
FDA estimates the economic impact of food borne illnesses from health related costs
by the sum of medical cost and losses to quality of life (loss of life expectancy, pain
and suffering functional disability). Using CDC data, reports estimate that food borne
illness costs related to produce alone are almost $ 39 billion per year in the US
(Group, 2010). In Australia there has been an increasing incidence of food borne
illnesses caused by E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Hepatitis A,