Foodborne Illness: Prevention and Control in the UK

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FOODBORNE DISEASE
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
BODY...........................................................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
This essay will talk about foodborne diseases that are spreading across the UK. The foodborne
disease may lead to increasing the prevalence of morbidity and mortality rate among the UK.
There are various microorganisms that are associated with foodborne diseases such as bacteria,
virus and parasite. The dietician has been playing a great role in preventing foodborne disease
in the UK. They are providing the necessary information and guidance to prevent illness.
Foodborne illness may lead to a variety of symptoms and these symptoms can be started within
the second or it could take a long time. Campylobacters is a most predominate pathogen that
has been associated with foodborne disease and it accounts nearly half of the cases has been
due to campylobacter (Labbé and García, 2013). Some of the procedure can be followed to
manage foodborne diseases such as clean, separate, cook, chill and report.
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BODY
Food acts as the main vehicle in order to transmission of various acute foodborne diseases in
the United Kingdom. Foodborne disease is caused by consuming contaminated drink or food
(Labbé and García, 2013). Various microorganism and toxic substance cause foodborne disease.
This substance and microbes contaminate foods. Around 250 foodborne diseases have been
known (Labbé and García, 2013). The majority of the foodborne disease has been caused due to
bacteria, viruses and parasites. Foodborne microorganism enters into the body through the
gastrointestinal tract and can lead to cause a variety of symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting,
nausea and abdominal cramps (Berto et al., 2012). Every food item contains some amount of
microorganism however improper cooking, handling or storage of food can lead to multiplying
of microorganism in large numbers and that lead to the development of illness.
One in every five people has been suffered from the foodborne disease every year (Berto et al.,
2012). In the year 1999 around 9.4 million people have been suffering from the foodborne
disease annually (Berto et al., 2012). It has been estimated in the year 2000, around 1.3 million
people have been suffered from the foodborne disease in the UK out of which 21,000 people
were admitted and around 500 die due to food born disease (Berto et al., 2012). The most
common cause of foodborne disease in the UK is due to contaminated chicken (Kadariya, Smith
and Thapaliya, 2014). It has been seen that around 398,000 cases of illness have been
associated with contaminated chicken (Kadariya, Smith and Thapaliya, 2014). Red meat such as
pork, lamb and beef has associated with a high risk of death among the population of the UK.
Between the year 198 to 1991, there are around 191 death has been due to salmonellosis
(Kadariya, Smith and Thapaliya, 2014).
Important foodborne disease
Foodborne diseases are usually toxic and infectious in nature and can produce mild to the
severe risk to health (Kadariya, Smith and Thapaliya, 2014). The most common foodborne
disease usually present in the population of the UK is
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 Food poisoning
 Diarrhoea
 Vomiting or nausea
 Abdominal cramp
 Listeria
 Cholera
 Campylobacteriosis
 Enterotoxigenic E.coli
 Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli
The most common pathogen that causes foodborne disease are campylobacters, salmonella,
clostridium perfringen, Escherichia coli and L. monocytogene (Pouillot et al., 2012). Various
researches have shown that Campylobacter is the most dominating microorganism that causes
foodborne disease. In January 2017, around 47,675 infections have been caused due to
Campylobacter spp. Rose and around 51,497 infections have been reported in October 2017
(Pouillot et al., 2012). It can be said that the number of infection can vary from year to year this
can be due to change in pathogen seasonality, outbreak activity, laboratory procedure or due
to a result of public health intervention or food safety precaution (Pouillot et al., 2012).
Outbreaks and notification of cases of foodborne disease are based on the clinical suspicion and
it can be variable (Belliot et al., 2014). It has been seen that some microbes in small amount are
not harmful because the human body has enough immunity to fight them. However, the
trouble has been arising when certain microbes enter in large amount, multiply and spread and
this can happen when the food is mishandled. Symptoms of foodborne disease can be varied
and can be developed within the 30 minutes and can be longer for several days after the
infected food has taken (Belliot et al., 2014).
Salmonella is one of the most common bacteria that cause diarrhoea and other foodborne
diseases that is related to death or hospitalization. It has been seen that salmonella is more
severe in younger children, older adults, pregnant women and those with a weak immune
system (Lindgren et al., 2012). Salmonella lives in the intestinal tract and hence it can spread
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easily unless the use of the appropriate cooking method and proper hygiene. Clostridium
perfringens is most commonly present in the environment and it can be multiple very rapidly.
Older adult, young children and infants are generally at high risk of C. perfringens (Lindgren et
al., 2012). These bacteria produce a toxin that causes sickness in the form of diarrhoea and
abdominal cramp. It is also known as buffet germ due to its fast-growing nature in a large
portion of food. Diarrhoea is most commonly associated with campylobacter (Lindgren et al.,
2012). Infections are generally associated with undercooked or eating raw meat or poultry
products that cause cross-contamination. However, freezing can reduce the number of
Campylobacter but not destroy properly and hence proper cooking or heating of food is very
necessary to prevent foodborne disease. It has been seen that infection due to Campylobacter
is more frequently occur in summer and it is most common in young children and infants
(Utzinger et al., 2012). Escherichia coli consists of a large group of bacteria. Food poisoning is
mainly caused due to E. coli and its effect is extremely severe. Listeria monocytes cause
listeriosis which is a serious infection that could affect people who are at great risk of
developing food poisoning. Young people, pregnant women, and individual with a weak
immune system are generally at high risk of infections (Utzinger et al., 2012). These bacteria
can grow at refrigerator where most of the microbes cannot grow easily.
Symptoms of foodborne disease
Most common symptoms of foodborne disease are vomiting and diarrhoea which usually last
for 1 to 7 days (Law et al., 2015). Other symptoms that include are joint ache, fever, fatigue,
nausea and abdominal cramps. The symptoms of the foodborne disease have been depending
on the cause and it can vary from person to person. Foodborne disease is an acute condition
and it usually happens suddenly and for a short duration (Law et al., 2015).
Prevention strategy of foodborne disease
The control and investigation of foodborne disease required multidisciplinary tasks and
required skills in food control, food safety, laboratory procedure, risk communication, food
microbiology, laboratory medicine, epidemiology, clinical medicine and management
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(Bahrndorff et al., 2013). There are various preventive measures can be taken in order to
prevent or reduce the prevalence of the foodborne disease in the UK.
Keep clean: always keep your hand clean and wash hand before handling any food item or
preparation. The hand should be a wash after going to the toilet. Sanitize and wash all the
surfaces of utensil or equipment that is used of food cooking (Epps et al., 2013). The kitchen
should be protected from pests, insects and other animals.
Separate cooked and raw food: the raw meat, seafood and poultry should be separated from
other foods and use separate utensils and equipment such as cutting boards and knives in order
to handle other foods (Epps et al., 2013). The food should be stored in a container in order to
avoid contact between prepare and raw foods.
Cook thoroughly: the stews and soup should be boiling and reached 70°C (M'ikanatha et al.,
2013). For poultry and meat product make sure that juice is clear.
Keep food at a safe temperature: the cooked food should not leave at room temperature for
more than 2 hours (M'ikanatha et al., 2013). The food should not be stored too long even in a
refrigerator and the frozen food should not be kept at room temperature.
Use of safe water and raw materials: the raw food should be wash is safe water and the food
should not be used beyond its expiry date (M'ikanatha et al., 2013). The processed food should
be selected such as pasteurized milk.
Prevention and treatment of foodborne disease
The foodborne disease has been spreading very rapidly in developing as well as developed
countries. It has been seen that daily 1000 people die due to foodborne disease across the
world (Bhunia, 2018). The demand for food safety management has been increased at local,
national and international level. There are various strategies has been planned in order to
protect ourselves form several types of infection and in order to treat a disease that could have
developed once (Bhunia, 2018). Some of the steps are
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Medicine and vaccines: a vaccine can be explained as biological preparations that are used to
improve the immunity against a particular disease (Van Doren et al., 2013). A vaccine contains
an agent that is often available in a weak or killed form of microorganism or toxins. This agent is
being responsible in order to stimulate the body immune system to identify foreign and to
destroy it. The immune system of the body is to respond to vaccines. A vaccinated individual
produces antibiotics that can help to neutralize a disease-causing bacterium or virus (Van Doren
et al., 2013). It has been seen that higher the proportion of vaccinated individual in the society
has a lower susceptibility to infections.
Antiviral and antibiotics: antibiotics are one of the most effective medications that can be used
to treat foodborne disease (Van Doren et al., 2013). It is a very powerful medicine that could
help to fight against bacterial infections. Antibiotics either stop or kill the activity of the
microorganism and allowing the body natural defence in order to eliminate the pathogen.
Antibiotics can save the lives of the individual but it has been seen that antibiotics resistance
can decrease the effectiveness of drugs (Braden and Tauxe, 2013).
Role of dietician in preventing foodborne disease
A dietician has been playing a great role in preventing and treating the case of foodborne
disease across the UK. Dietician provides advice and guidance in order to maintain personal
hygiene of patient that could help to prevent the chances of infections (Braden and Tauxe,
2013). The personal hygienic can be maintained by washing the hand after using the toilet and
before taking any food since most of the infection has been spread due to not washing hand
properly. Sanitizer can be used to prevent any infection.
A dietician should teach the patient how to handle the food properly (Braden and Tauxe, 2013).
They should provide proper knowledge and advice in order to proper handling of a food
product. The food should be refrigerated properly and promptly.
Various education and awareness session should be conducted to spread knowledge related to
preventive and treatment measure of foodborne disease among the public (Braden and Tauxe,
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2013). The various health care campaigns must be conducted in order to provide knowledge
related to foodborne disease.
A dietician should properly monitor the patient whether he or she is following the procedure in
orders to maintain hygiene status. Regular and time to time monitoring of services should be
carried out in order to reduce the prevalence of the foodborne disease in the UK (Buffer et al.,
2013).
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CONCLUSION
Management of foodborne disease is very important in order to reduce the mortality rate in
the UK. It has been seen that foodborne disease has been spread very rapidly across the world
and one of the most common reason is due to the consumption of raw meat and poultry
product. There are various microorganisms that are being responsible to transmit foodborne
diseases from one person to another. However, there are various factors that could aggravate
foodborne disease in the UK. In order to control foodborne disease, first, need to understand
the mechanism of the pathogen that could cause foodborne disease. A dietician is providing
advice and guidance to prevent and treat the case of foodborne disease and has made various
strategies to reduce the prevalence of the foodborne disease in the UK.
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REFERENCES
Bahrndorff, S., Rangstrup-Christensen, L., Nordentoft, S. and Hald, B., 2013. Foodborne disease
prevention and broiler chickens with reduced Campylobacter infection. Emerging Infectious
Diseases, 19(3), p.425.
Belliot, G., Lopman, B.A., Ambert-Balay, K. and Pothier, P., 2014. The burden of norovirus
gastroenteritis: an important foodborne and healthcare-related infection. Clinical microbiology
and infection, 20(8), pp.724-730.
Berto, A., Martelli, F., Grierson, S. and Banks, M., 2012. Hepatitis E virus in pork food chain,
United Kingdom, 2009–2010. Emerging infectious diseases, 18(8), p.1358.
Bhunia, A.K., 2018. Foodborne microbial pathogens: mechanisms and pathogenesis. Springer.
Braden, C.R. and Tauxe, R.V., 2013. Emerging trends in foodborne diseases. Infectious disease
clinics, 27(3), pp.517-533.
Buffer, J., Kendall, P., Medeiros, L., Schroeder, M. and Sofos, J., 2013. Nurses and dietitians
differ in food safety information provided to highly susceptible clients. Journal of nutrition
education and behavior, 45(2), pp.102-108.
Epps, S., Harvey, R., Hume, M., Phillips, T., Anderson, R. and Nisbet, D., 2013. Foodborne
Campylobacter: infections, metabolism, pathogenesis and reservoirs. International journal of
environmental research and public health, 10(12), pp.6292-6304.
Kadariya, J., Smith, T.C. and Thapaliya, D., 2014. Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal
food-borne disease: an ongoing challenge in public health. BioMed research international, 2014.
Labbé, R.G. and García, S. eds., 2013. Guide to foodborne pathogens. Wiley Blackwell.
Law, J.W.F., Ab Mutalib, N.S., Chan, K.G. and Lee, L.H., 2015. Rapid methods for the detection of
foodborne bacterial pathogens: principles, applications, advantages and limitations. Frontiers in
microbiology, 5, p.770.
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Lindgren, E., Andersson, Y., Suk, J.E., Sudre, B. and Semenza, J.C., 2012. Monitoring EU
emerging infectious disease risk due to climate change. Science, 336(6080), pp.418-419.
M'ikanatha, N.M., Lynfield, R., Van Beneden, C.A. and De Valk, H. eds., 2013. Infectious disease
surveillance. New York, NY, USA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Pouillot, R., Hoelzer, K., Jackson, K.A., Henao, O.L. and Silk, B.J., 2012. Relative risk of listeriosis
in Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) sites according to age,
pregnancy, and ethnicity. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 54(suppl_5), pp.S405-S410.
Utzinger, J., Becker, S.L., Knopp, S., Blum, J., Neumayr, A.L., Keiser, J. and Hatz, C.F., 2012.
Neglected tropical diseases: diagnosis, clinical management, treatment and control. Swiss
medical weekly: official journal of the Swiss Society of Infectious Diseases, the Swiss Society of
Internal Medicine, the Swiss Society of Pneumology, 142.
Van Doren, J.M., Neil, K.P., Parish, M., Gieraltowski, L., Gould, L.H. and Gombas, K.L., 2013.
Foodborne illness outbreaks from microbial contaminants in spices, 1973–2010. Food
microbiology, 36(2), pp.456-464.
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