IngentaConnect Outbreaks Where Food Workers Have Been Implicated in the Spread o...

Authors: Todd, Ewen C.D.¹; Greig, Judy D.²; Bartleson, Charles A.³; Michaels, Barry S.⁴

Source: Journal of Food Protection®, Volume 71, Number 11, November 2008 , pp. 2339-2373(35)

Publisher: International Association for Food Protection

Abstract:

In this article, the fourth in a series reviewing the role of food workers in foodborne outbreaks, background information on the presence of enteric pathogens in the community, the numbers of organisms required to initiate an infection, and the length of carriage are presented. Although workers have been implicated in outbreaks, they were not always aware of their infections, either because they were in the prodromic phase before symptoms began or because they were asymptomatic carriers. Pathogens of fecal, nose or throat, and skin origin are most likely to be transmitted by the hands, highlighting the need for effective hand hygiene and other barriers to pathogen contamination, such as no bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food. The pathogens most likely to be transmitted by food workers are norovirus, hepatitis A virus, Salmonella, Shigella, and Staphylococcus aureus. However, other pathogens have been implicated in worker-associated outbreaks or have the potential to be implicated. In this study, the likelihood of pathogen involvement in foodborne outbreaks where infected workers have been implicated was examined, based on infectious dose, carriage rate in the community, duration of illness, and length of pathogen excretion. Infectious dose estimates are based on volunteer studies (mostly early experiments) or data from outbreaks. Although there is considerable uncertainty associated with these data, some pathogens appear to be able to infect at doses as low as 1 to 100 units, including viruses, parasites, and some bacteria. Lengthy postsymptomatic shedding periods and excretion by asymptomatic individuals of many enteric pathogens is an important issue for the hygienic management of food workers.

Document Type: Review article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Advertising Public Relations and Retailing, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA 2: Public Health Agency of Canada, Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, 160 Research Lane, Unit 206, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 5B2 3: Bartleson Food Safety Consultants, P. O. Box 11983, Olympia, Washington 98508-1983, USA 4: The B. Michaels Group, Inc., 487 West River Road, Palatka, Florida 32177, USA

The full text electronic article is available for purchase. You will be able to download the full text electronic article after payment.

$37.00 plus tax

Outbreaks Where Food Workers Have Been Implicated in the Spread of Foodborne Disease. Part 4. Infective Doses and Pathogen Carriage