Food safety: pathogen transmission routes, hygiene practices and prevention

Modelling the effects of antibiotic usage in livestock on human salmonellosis

Antibiotic usage in livestock has been suggested as a driver of antimicrobial resistance in human and livestock populations. This has contributed to the implementation of stewardship programs to curtail usage of antibiotics in livestock. However, the consequences of antibiotic curtailment in livestock on human health are poorly understood. There is the potential for increases in the carriage of pathogens such as Salmonella spp. in livestock, and subsequent increases in human foodborne disease. We use a mathematical model fitted to four case studies, ampicillin and tetracycline usage in fattening pig and broiler poultry populations, to explore the impact of curtailing antibiotic usage in livestock on salmonellosis in humans. Increases in the daily incidence of salmonellosis and a decrease in the proportion of resistant salmonellosis were identified following curtailment of antibiotic usage in livestock. The extent of these increases in human foodborne disease ranged from negligible, to controllable through interventions to target the farm-to-fork pathway. This study provides a motivating example of one plausible scenario following curtailment of antibiotic usage in livestock and suggests that a focus on ensuring good farm-to-fork hygiene and livestock biosecurity is sufficient to mitigate the negative human health consequences of antibiotic stewardship in livestock populations.

M, Ladrón De Guevara M, Guzmán G, de la Guardia V, García A, Lucero MF, Wong D, Mcleod R, Soberon M, Caballero E. Z. Epidemiological Aspects of Maternal and Congenital Toxoplasmosis in Panama

In Panama, epidemiological data on congenital toxoplasmosis are limited, making it difficult to understand the scope of clinical manifestations in the population and factors that may increase the risk of infection. This study provides insight into the epidemiological situation of maternal and congenital toxoplasmosis in Panama and contributing information on the burden of this disease in Central America. Blood samples were collected from 2326 pregnant women and used for the detection of anti-T. gondii antibodies. A high seroprevalence (44.41%) was observed for T. gondii infection in pregnant women from different regions of Panama, with an estimated incidence rate of congenital toxoplasmosis of 3.8 cases per 1000 live births. The main risk factors associated with T. gondii infection using bivariate statistical analysis were an elementary level education and maternal age range of 34-45 years. Multivariate statistical analyses revealed that in some regions (San Miguelito, North and West regions), the number of positive cases correlated with the presence of pets, stray dogs and the consumption of poultry. In other regions (East and Metropolitan regions), the absence of pets was considered a protective factor associated with negative cases, while the presence of stray cats and the age range of 25-34 years did not represent any risk in these regions.

Evidence on food control in charitable food assistance programs: a systematic scoping review

BACKGROUND

Food control is defined as a mandatory regulatory activity of enforcement aimed at ensuring that all foods during production, handling, storage, processing, and distribution are safe, wholesome, and fit for human consumption; conform to safety and quality requirements; and are honestly and accurately labeled as prescribed by law. This applies to food served by the conventional food supply chain as well as the charitable food assistance programs (CFAPs). This review sought to map the available evidence on the food control in the CFAPs globally.

METHODS

In order to identify the literature, we developed a series of search terms, as well as parameters for including articles to review the literature using African Index Medicus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and EBSCOhost (MEDLINE with full text, Academic search complete, MEDLINE) search engines. Articles were also searched through the "Cited by" search as well as citations included in the reference lists of included articles. We included studies reported in all languages and published from inception to 2018. We included studies if they presented evidence of the CFAPs, namely food banks, food charitable organizations (FCOs), pantries, community soup kitchens, and emergency shelters. We presented the results of our search using thematic analysis in order to reveal the emerging themes.

RESULTS

Beyond inconsistencies with the classification of the CFAPs, our study found significant knowledge gaps in crucial areas, namely food vulnerability, food traceability, vulnerability of beneficiary populations, and lack of food control. Our search yielded a total of 23 articles, which we included in the analysis. Results show that while food is the critical commodity to saving lives, if not controlled properly, it can have an adverse effect, especially on people it is meant to benefit (the vulnerable).

CONCLUSION

With no previous comprehensive review to assess what is known about food control in the CFAPs, we undertook a scoping review, focusing on mapping the key concepts, including the main sources and types of evidence available. By drawing conclusions about the overall state of research activity and identifying research gaps and priorities in the existing literature, this study provides a baseline assessment of the CFAP research published in peer-reviewed journals from inception to 2018.