Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/9/2009
Publication Date: 1/15/2010
Citation: Hill, D.E, and Dubey, J.P. 2010. Foodborne Parasites. In: Juneja V.K. and Sofos, N.N., editors. Pathogens and Toxins in Foods. Herndon, VA: ASM Press. p. 195-217. Interpretive Summary: As international travel, large scale movement of human populations, climate change, and global trade in agricultural products increase, so does the risk of introductions of foodborne parasitic organisms into the human food chain in new geographic areas. Three phyla containing parasitic organisms (Protozoa, Platyhelminths, and Nematodes) include genera whose transmission is primarily foodborne.
Technical Abstract: Foodborne infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and foodborne parasitic diseases, though not as widespread as bacterial and viral infections, are common on all continents and in most ecosystems, including arctic, temperate, and tropical regions. Certain foodborne parasitic organisms, such as Toxoplasma gondii, are extremely widespread, affecting 40-50% of the population worldwide, while others, such as Fasciolopsis buski, are restricted to specific geographic regions as a result of the limited range of the required definitive or intermediate host