Fundamental Food Microbiology, Third Edition - Fuad Fathir

330 FUNDAMENTAL FOOD MICROBIOLOGY
Table 23.4 Predominant Bacterial and Viral Pathogens Associated with the
Confirmed Foodborne Diseases from 1983 to 1987 in the U.S.
Bacteria and
Virusesa Outbreaks Cases Deaths
No. % No. % No. %
Staphylococcus
aureus
47 7.6 3,181 6.2 0 0
Clostridium
botulinum
74 11.9 140 0.3 10 17.0
Salmonella 342 55.1 31,245 61.1 39 66.0
Shigella spp. 44 7.1 9,971 19.5 2 3.4
Escherichia coli 7 1.1 640 1.3 4 6.8
Campylobacter
spp.
28 4.5 727 1.4 1 1.7
Clostridium
perfringens
24 3.9 2,743 5.4 2 3.4
Bacillus cereus 16 2.6 261 0.5 0 0
Hepatitis A virus 29 4.7 1,067 2.0 1 1.7
Norwalk-like
virus
10 1.5 1,164 2.3 0 0
Total 621 100 51,139 100 59 100
a Not included in the table are Brucella spp., Streptococcus spp., Vibrio spp., and several
others, which combined were associated with 18 (2.8%) outbreaks. Lis.
monocytogenes caused 3 outbreaks affecting 259 people, with 70 deaths. See Table
23.11 for current trends.
Norwalk-like viral infection from 1983 to 1987. Some reasons for higher incidence
of some pathogens, such as Salmonella, over others can be their occurrence in higher
frequency in the food environments, their greater ability to produce the disease, and
their ability to grow more rapidly under abusive conditions. With some pathogens,
a single outbreak can involve many cases. This is typical for salmonellosis, shigellosis,
and staphylococcal intoxication. For other pathogens, such as Clo. botulinum,
only a few individuals are affected in a single outbreak. This is because of the
predisposing factors associated with a particular outbreak. This aspect is explained
later with the specific disease. Lis. monocytogenes, not included in this data, caused
70 deaths among 259 cases in 3 outbreaks. 2
H. Predominant Food Types Associated with Foodborne Diseases of
Bacterial and Viral Origin
Certain food types or foods prepared under specific conditions and environments
have been implicated more frequently with foodborne disease than others. Some of
the factors could be the presence of a pathogen in the raw materials in higher
frequency, thereby having a greater chance to contaminate the finished products, the
ability of a pathogen to grow advantageously in a particular type of food, a greater
chance of failure in quality control in a specific environment, and a higher possibility
of food handlers to contaminate the finished products. Some of these aspects can