ABSTRACT
Food-borne infection or disease is defined as any illness resulting from ingestion of contaminated food. Pathogenic bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, marine phytoplankton, and cyanobacteria cause microbial food-borne diseases. Food-borne illnesses are among the most widespread diseases of the contemporary world. In most cases, severity of these diseases ranges from infections without apparent clinical manifestations, to mild illness, to severe illness, to death. Fortunately, in most cases, the clinical picture is mild and self-limiting, but because of their high frequency of occurrence, their socioeconomic impact is very significant. Their importance as a vital public health problem is often overlooked because the true incidence is difficult to evaluate and the severity of the health and economic consequences is often not fully understood. For most foodborne diseases only a small proportion of cases reach the notice of health services, and even fewer are investigated. It is believed that in industrialized countries less than 10% of the cases are reported, and in developing countries reported cases probably account for less than 1% of the total (Kaferstein et al., 1999). Despite these limitations in reporting, available data give evidence of a tremendous public health problem (Table 12.1).
