What You Should Know
The meeting identified the three leading causes of foodborne illnesses. These are human norovirus, hepatitis A, and hepatitis E. While norovirus is the most common, hepatitis A and hepatitis E are considered equally significant but rank higher in terms of clinical severity.
The expert committee utilized a comprehensive approach to rank these viruses and relevant food commodities. They reviewed literature, participated in expert knowledge elicitation, discussed virus testing methods, and reviewed potential indicators for viral contamination. Their rankings were based on frequency and severity.
The meeting highlighted the global significance of foodborne illnesses. In the United States alone, foodborne illnesses are a frequent occurrence, with millions of people affected each year.
The Enormity of Foodborne Illness and When to Seek Medical Care
Foodborne illness is a very frequent occurrence in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases annually in the US.2
In terms of symptoms, foodborne illness can create gastrointestinal infections with symptoms including diarrhea and/or vomiting, which can last 1 to 7 days. Other symptoms might include abdominal cramps, nausea, fever, joint/back aches, and fatigue. For any of these leading causes of foodborne illnesses, there are no current FDA approved therapies.2
CDC recommends calling your health care provider if you have severe symptoms such as:
- Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
- Diarrhea for more than three days that is not improving
- Bloody diarrhea
- So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down, which can lead to dehydration
- Dehydration, which causes symptoms such as dry mouth and throat, feeling dizzy when standing up, and not urinating much
Committee Recommendations
The US has federal agencies trying to prevent foodborne illness as well as protocols in place to let the public know about outbreaks. In low-to-middle income countries, these protocols might not be in place to prevent further outbreaks from happening.
“Member countries consider capacity building to support training and adoption of these methods for detecting viruses in foods and the environment. This approach has the potential to enhance knowledge on food attribution, support risk analysis, and reduce the burden of viral foodborne disease worldwide. Appropriate global actions will help alleviate the anticipated increase in public health risk from viral foodborne illness arising from population growth, the climate crisis, and globalization of food supply chains,” the report authors wrote.
The full report will be made available at a later date.
References
1.Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on microbiological risk assessment of viruses in foods - Part 1: food attribution, analytical methods and indicators. WHO. September 18, 2023. Accessed October 24, 2023. https://www.fao.org/3/cc8193en/cc8193en.pdf
2.Fast Facts About Food Poisoning. CDC. Last reviewed March 24, 2023. Accessed October 24, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/food-poisoning.html
