Fundamental Food Microbiology, Third Edition - Fuad Fathir

418 FUNDAMENTAL FOOD MICROBIOLOGY
Table 28.1 New Pathogenic Bacteria and Viruses Associated with Confirmed
Foodborne Diseases from 1959 to 1990 in the U.S.
Before 1959 1959–1970 1971–1980 1981–1990
Sta. aureus Clo. perfringens
(1959) a
Salmonella serovar
(typhi and
paratyphi included)
Clo. botulinum
(Type A, B)
Vib.
parahaemolyticus
(1971)
Bac. cereus (1959) Enteropathogenic
Esc. coli
(0124:B17; 1971)
Vib. cholera
(non-01; 1965)
Clo. botulinum
(Infant botulism;
1976)
Vib. vulnificus
(1976)
Shigella spp. Clo. botulinum (Type
E; mid-1960s)
Hepatitis A (1962) Yer. enterocolitica
(1976)
Vib. cholera (01;
1978)
Cam. jejuni (1979)
a Year first confirmed in foodborne outbreak.
b Recognized as a major cause of salmonellosis of egg origin.
Esc. coli 0157:H7
(1982)
Lis. monocytogenes
(1983)
Esc. coli 0127:H20
(1983)
Norwalk-like viruses
(1982)
Cam. coli
Salmonella
Enteritidis b
association of Clo. botulinum with infant botulism was also recognized. In the 1980s,
Listeria monocytogenes, enterohemorrhagenic Esc. coli O157:H7, enterotoxigenic
Esc. coli O27:H20, Norwalk-like viruses, and probably Cam. coli became the new
pathogens. Salmonella Enteritidis, which was earlier involved in foodborne outbreaks
in a relatively low frequency, became a major causative agent of foodborne
salmonellosis. In recent years, the possible role of several pathogens, namely, Helicobacter
pyloris, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, and a few enteric viruses, in
foodborne/waterborne diseases has been suspected. Similar situations involving the
sudden emergence of new foodborne pathogens with time also exist in other countries.
1–4
Are they really “new” foodborne pathogens? If a pathogen uses a food as a
vehicle for its transmission to humans for the first time and causes the specific illness,
then it is probably not new. Rather, it is appropriate to recognize that it probably
has caused foodborne illnesses before but has not been confirmed. Because of
changes in several situations, its direct involvement in a foodborne illness has
probably been suspected before and identified later for the first time. In this section,
the changes in several situations that have probably led to the discovery of a new
foodborne pathogen are discussed.
A critical analysis of the data in Table 28.1 reveals three important observations:
(a) a pathogen that has not been confirmed in the past or at present can emerge as
a foodborne pathogen in the future; (b) a pathogen that currently is involved in a
few sporadic foodborne illnesses or outbreaks may, in the future, become a major
cause of foodborne outbreaks (such as in Salmonella Enteritidis); and (c) conversely,
a pathogen considered to be the major cause of a foodborne disease in the past or
at present can, in the future, become associated with fewer incidences. (For example,
in the U.S., there were 26 staphylococcal food intoxication outbreaks in 1976
affecting 930 people; in 1987, there was only 1 outbreak with 100 cases.) The