Foodborne Disease
Foodborne disease or foodborne illness is a type of illness or symptom by contaminated foods or beverages. There are many different foodborne infections causing microbes, or pathogens, this is called “contaminated foods” (see figure 1.2). There are many reasons for foodborne disease remaining a global public health challenge because the globalization of the food supply has led to the rapid and widespread international distribution of foods. Pathogens can be inadvertently introduced into new geographical areas, such as with the discharge of ballast water contaminated with Vibrio cholerae in the Americas in 1991. Travellers, refugees and immigrants may be exposed to unfamiliar foodborne hazards in new environments. Changes in microorganisms lead to the constant evolution of new pathogens, development of antibiotic resistance, and changes in virulence of known pathogens. In many countries, as people increasingly consume food prepared outside the home, growing numbers are potentially exposed to the risks of poor hygiene in commercial foodservice settings (World Health Organization, n.d.). Moreover, it causes an estimated 48 million illnesses each year in the United States, including 9.4 million caused by known pathogens and resulting in over 3,000 deaths annually (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).
Likewise in Thailand, foodborne disease is one of the seriously problems in public health. Figure 1.3 provides the number of population who were ill or not feeling well from diarrhea or dysentery in Thailand. As can be seen, the annual population will continually be increase and it may be nearly a million persons in brighter future.