Outbreaks Where Food Workers Have Been Implicated in the Spread of Foodborne Disease. Part 4. Infective Doses and Pathogen Carriage
2339 Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 71, No. 11, 2008, Pages 2339–2373 Copyright ᮊ, International Association for Food Protection Review Outbreaks Where Food Workers Have Been Implicated in the Spread of Foodborne Disease. Part 4. Infective Doses and Pathogen Carriage EWEN C. D. TODD,1* JUDY D. GREIG,2 CHARLES A. BARTLESON,3 AND BARRY S. MICHAELS4 1Department of Advertising Public Relations and Retailing, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA; 2Public Health Agency of Canada, Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, 160 Research Lane, Unit 206, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 5B2; 3Bartleson Food Safety Consultants, P.O. Box 11983, Olympia, Washington 98508-1983, USA; and 4The B. Michaels Group, Inc., 487 West River Road, Palatka, Florida 32177, USA MS 08-294: Received 17 June 2008/Accepted 18 July 2008 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.
[Show full text]