Food-borne pathogens: limiting the spread

There are several sources of information on food-borne illness in the United Kingdom. These include laboratory and clinical reports and the results of special studies and surveys. The data are collected, analysed and published, amongst other places, in the Communicable Disease Report and the Public Health Laboratory Service/State Veterinary Service (PHLS/SVS) Salmonella Update. In the latter, animal and human data are brought together. Reported cases of food poisoning represent a small proportion of the total load of disease but are valuable as an indication of trends. The data produced from these sources in relation to salmonellosis, listeriosis, campylobacter and E. coli 0157 infection are described, as are some data about the costs of human salmonellosis. Possible approaches to the reduction of these economically important human diseases are described against a background of the existing advisory and legal structures.