Q. Describe some Food borne disease?

Food borne diseases are caused by the ingestion of foods containing toxic or infectious agents. In India, the diseases transmitted by food are commonly referred to as food poisoning. Food poisoning, in other words, is the term used to refer to the harmful effects of consuming food contaminated by microorganisms.

Food borne disease outbreaks in the community ,are of common occurrence, both in the developed and developing countries. A food borne disease outbreak is defined as an incident in which two or more persons experience a similar illness, usually, gastrointestinal, after the ingestion of a common food which is identzjied as the source of food borne illness. You would be interested to know that more than 250 different food borne diseases have been described. Most of these diseases are infections, caused by a variety of bacteria, viruses and parasites that can be food borne. Other diseases are poisonings, caused by harmhl toxins or chemicals that have contaminated the food, for example, poisonous mushrooms. Certain moulds also produce toxins, called mycotoxins, in the food they attack. All these can lead to illness. Food borne disease has been termed as the most widespread health problem in the contemporary world and an important cause of reduced economic prosperity.

It is said that occurrence of a number of food borne diseases is next only to common cold. In developing countries, the exact magnitude of the problem of food borne diseases is not fully recognized. It is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the ratio of actual to reported cases of food borne diseases varies fiom 25:l to 1OO:l.