Summary

In this study session, you have learned that:

1. Foodborne diseases have long been a major public health problem and continue to be a significant cause of human ill health and death.
2. Foodborne diseases can be classified into two main types: food infection and food poisoning.
3. Food infections are classified as bacterial, viral, parasitic or fungal.
4. Food poisoning is classified according to the type of toxin that causes it which may be natural, bacterial, fungal or chemical.
5. General advice for the prevention of foodborne disease includes good personal hygiene by food handlers, careful food storage and proper cooking methods.
6. The management of foodborne disease depends on the particular symptoms and disease. Patients with acute diarrhoea should be treated with oral rehydration therapy and, if they do not respond promptly, they should be referred.
7. Any outbreak of foodborne disease needs to be investigated following prescribed procedures in order to identify the source of the outbreak.