Tag Archives: human pathogens

Europe – Impact of Anthropogenic Changes to Water on Human Pathogens

HPS

The journal ‘Eurosurveillance’ is inviting authors to submit papers for a special issue on the impact of anthropogenic changes to water on human pathogens and the epidemiology of infectious diseases and relevance for public health.

The submission deadline has been extended to 13 May 2015.

Water can act as a solvent for antimicrobials, antifungals, antivirals, pesticides, and heavy metals. The release of such substances in the water can lead to the development of respective resistance in pathogens or related vectors. The resistance can spread between pathogens (e.g. via plasmid exchange), but resistant pathogens can also be propagated further in the environment via currents, or food webs, allowing humans to be exposed in new ways.

The aim of this special issue is to provide examples relevant for European public health, on how anthropogenic changes to water affect epidemiology of human infectious disease and how these changes cause infections with pathogens exhibiting novel drug resistance and/or virulence patterns.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • emerging opportunistic fungal and bacterial infection acquired in the healthcare setting through contact with water and aerosols;
  • infections caused by organisms from ground water, drinking wells and water reservoirs with resistance to antimicrobials due to increasing concentrations of such substances in these artificial water systems;
  • unusual human outbreaks due to ingestion of pathogens present in foods originating from aquatic environments affected by anthropogenic changes, or due to exposure to pathogens from such environments;
  • issues related to the detection and identification of cases and the proof of anthropogenic change to water as a cause.

For guidance on submitting papers or for further information, consult the Eurosurveillance instructions for authors regarding article formats (at http://www.eurosurveillance.org/Public/ForAuthors/ForAuthors.aspx) or contact the editorial team at eurosurveillance@ecdc.europa.eu. [Source: Eurosurveillance, 16 April 2015. http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=21092]

Research -Raw Milk Concumption Benefits and Risks

Science DirectimagesCAZ9J1WP

In the context of the prevailing trend toward more natural products, there seems to be an increasing preference for raw milk consumption as raw milk is associated with several perceived health benefits that are believed to be destroyed upon heating. However, many human pathogens can be isolated from raw cow milk. The prevalence of foodborne pathogens in raw cow milk varies, but their presence has been demonstrated in many surveys and foodborne infections have been repeatedly reported for Campylobacter, Salmonella spp. and human pathogenic verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli. In industrialized countries, milk-borne and milk product-borne outbreaks represent 2–6% of the bacterial foodborne outbreaks.

The aim of this review is to present scientifically sound data regarding the risks and benefits related to the consumption of raw and heated cow milk. Both microbiological aspects (e.g., the prevalence of milk-borne pathogens, pathogen growth inhibition by antimicrobial systems and by lactic acid producing bacteria, probiotic bacteria, etc.) and nutritional or health aspects (nutritional value, immunity, allergies, lactose intolerance, diabetes, milk digestibility, etc.) are considered.

As such, it is demonstrated that consumption of raw milk poses a realistic health threat due to a possible contamination with human pathogens. It is therefore strongly recommended that milk should be heated before consumption. With the exception of an altered organoleptic profile, heating (in particularly ultra high temperature and similar treatments) will not substantially change the nutritional value of raw milk or other benefits associated with raw milk consumption.

 

Science Direct