ABSTRACT
The global impact of foodborne disease is immense. In the United States alone, the yearly estimate of health care costs and lost revenue due to illness is close to U.S. $50 billion (1). Worldwide the tally is many times greater although actual numbers are hard to establish as individual cases of foodborne disease, which may account for as much as 99% of all cases in some parts of the developing world (2), are either unreported or are attributed to water (3). Viruses represent an important cause of foodborne disease in humans and the major groups of foodborne viruses have been dealt with in other chapters in this book. This chapter will discuss the known or suspected role of other types of viruses in causing foodborne disease in humans; it will also summarize the available information on the foodborne spread of prions.
