Microbiological Foodborne Pathogen datasheets
Microbiological Foodborne Pathogen datasheets cover those pathogens that can cause illness in humans due to their presence in food of animal origin. The approach to the design of these datasheets was to try to provide a starting point for the compilation of a Microbial Risk Assessment (MRA) report for the respective organism(s) covered. Definitions of the nomenclature used in the headings of text sections for these datasheets, were provided to authors from Procedural Manual of the Codex Alimentarius Commission - Twelfth Edition. For an introduction to MRAs, see Voysey P, 2006. Risk assessment - introduction. In: Buncic S, ed. Integrated food safety and veterinary public health. Wallingford, UK: CAB International, 45-51, which is available as a PDF document in the Library archive of this Compendium.
The Microbial Foodborne Pathogen datasheet cover page consists of a text window and a cover picture - there are no distribution maps or data associated with these datasheets.
There is a link on the cover page to the Pathogen datasheet associated with the Foodborne Pathogen datasheet, under the heading, 'Food Safety Datasheet for'.
Names of foodborne diseases caused in humans are given using terminology and coding from the WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD). There are also links to three further sections of the datasheet; the 'Overview' text, 'Critical Control Points and Food Safety Interventions', and 'Library documents' associated with the datasheet.
Further parts of the datasheet are available from the main Menu Bar, the contents of which may change to reflect the contents of the datasheet.
The menu choices are:
The Information drop-down menu contains textual information and tables, giving more information about the foodborne pathogen. Click on an item on the list to see more. This information will appear on the cover page text window, taking up the full page-width. The titles used in the Information drop-down menu come from a defined list:
Pathogens
Links to Pathogen datasheets for the organism(s) in question, giving further
information about the pathogens themselves.
Human Disease Names
List of disease names, including the WHO International Classification of
Diseases names and codes, for foodborne diseases caused by the organism(s) in
humans.
Related Diseases in Animals
List of diseases caused by the organism(s) covered in animals, linked to
respective animal Disease
datasheets.
Overview
Brief summary of the context, history and taxonomy of the pathogen(s) and the
disease(s), indicating the important of the disease(s) and the severity of the
disease(s) caused in humans. The animal products most likely to carry the
pathogen(s) are described along with the levels of the food management chain the
pathogen(s) or toxin(s) are likely to enter.
Hazard Identification
Summary of the nature of the threat to human health caused by the respective
pathogen(s). Information is presented to illustrate the importance of foodborne
transmission as compared with other forms of transmission in the epidemiology of
the disease caused in humans. This may involve use of public health data on the
incidence of disease caused by the pathogen(s) in food products or reference to
reports in which the pathogen(s) has been identified as the cause of specific
outbreaks or cases.
Hazard Characterization
The disease(s) or adverse effects caused by the respective pathogen(s) as a
result of food consumption by humans are summarized. This may include a
dose-response assessment of morbidity and fatality and a list of 'at-risk'
groups (e.g., children under the age of 5 years, patients with immunodeficiency,
etc.). A brief summary of what is known of incubation time(s), symptoms and, if
relevant, long-term effects of the disease(s) caused should also be included.
The disease(s) in humans are described to a level of detail that should be
adequate to communicate the threat to human health caused by the pathogen(s)
without detailed descriptions of disease aetiology, pathology, effects on human
physiology etc. An indication of the usual methods, efficacy and costs of
treating the disease(s) caused to humans is given in this section. Special
mention should be made in this text of any record of antimicrobial drug
resistance of the pathogen(s), giving all relevant details; strain(s)
identified, antimicrobials tested, year, geographic and bibliographic
references.
Epidemiology and Disease
Surveillance
This text includes a summary of what is known of the epidemiology of the
disease(s) caused by the pathogen(s) in humans, as well as any specific
surveillance methods used for these pathogen(s), including subtyping methods and
any international collaborations or networks specializing in surveillance of the
pathogen(s). However, actual detection techniques are covered in the section,
'Detection, Isolation, Confirmation, Subtyping'.
Critical Control Points and
Interventions
Tabulated text(s) on the basis of food management chains (see 'Scope' in
Preamble; Dairy Supply Chain, Egg Supply Chain, Meat Supply Chain) used to
summarize the Critical Control Points and food safety interventions in the food
management chain at which control can be applied to prevent or reduce to an
acceptable level, the risk of foodborne disease in humans caused by the
pathogen(s). Note that although the whole table is presented giving all the
standard headings of the levels in the production chains for milk, meat and egg
products, only those sections with live links (in blue) have texts associated
with the datasheet in question.
Pathogen Growth and Survival
A summary of the behaviour and growth of the pathogen(s) in or on foods, taking
into account both intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as optimum temperature,
pH, and atmospheric and water activity.
Detection, Isolation,
Confirmation, Subtyping
Specific methods used to detect the pathogen in different stages of the food
management chain are described. This might include gross examinations such as
veterinary meat inspection, standard milk testing procedures such as somatic
cell counts, or other methods such as culture, electrical, bioluminescence,
microscopy, immunological or genetic techniques.
Trade and Legislation
A summary of the impact of the organism(s) on national and international trade,
with particular emphasis on the role of legislation in controlling the organism
as a food contaminant.
Risk Communication
A brief description of how the risk of contamination of food products or
foodborne transmission of the pathogen(s) can be effectively communicated to and
between interested parties throughout the food supply chain. The text may
include examples of common misconceptions that have been identified within the
general public regarding the risk to health this pathogen(s) poses and how Risk
Communication to consumers can be improved.
References
References cited in the writing of the datasheet.
Links to Websites
Useful sources of further information relating to the microbiological pathogen(s)
covered that are available on the Internet.
Related Library Documents
Items contained within the Animal Health and Production Compendium's archive of
reference materials that are of particular relevance to the pathogen(s) covered
and have been linked to the datasheet.
Pictures for a disease may be accessed from clicking the cover page picture, or by selecting Pictures from the menu bar. For more information on Pictures, see Exploring a datasheet.
The Notepad function is available from datasheets. This allows you to record your own disease-specific notes, as well as more general notes.
To generate a report in HTML from a datasheet, open the Report menu and select Generate Report. This allows you to build a report containing the sections you want. For more information, see the separate section on Reports.
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