Foodborne Microbial Pathogens (eBook)

Undoubtedly in the past 10-20 years, impact of foodborne pathogens has been overwhelming because of high rate of fatalities, illnesses, and the fear of being exposed to incurable infective agents or toxins. Rapid growth in the centralized food production industries, aggressive agricultural practices and changes in food consumption habits are contributing factors for the emergence of increased foodborne infections by new or old pathogens resulting in several outbreaks, product recalls and economic losses. These events prompted increased research activities to understand the pathogens and their pathogenic mechanisms, and prevention and control strategies. Modern molecular tools also facilitated our understanding of the function and regulations of virulent or other accessory genes. Above all, the complete genome sequence of several important foodborne pathogens helped unravel the molecular basis of pathogenesis. Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens: Mechanisms and Pathogenisis will be a graduate level textbook focusing on up-to-date information on molecular and cellular mechanism of several major foodborne bacterial pathogens, virulence genes and their regulation in the host or the food environment, pathogenicity testing models, clinical symptoms and prevention and control strategies. In order to understand the disease process, one must have certain understanding about the role of immune system in the disease process. Thus, unlike other textbooks this book will also cover the host parasite interaction to a level where the readers would have better appreciation for the disease mechanism. For the first time a book will link foodborne illness and immunology. Traditionally, food science or food microbiology has been perceived as a applied science and thus most research programs or teaching curricula did not include topics related to molecular aspect of pathogenesis or mechanism of disease production or survival strategies in food or the host or the influence of food production or processing on pathogens behavior. It is simply because of the lack of adequate knowledge on these topics. As the knowledge base grew and the potential impact of food environment on pathogens behavior is realized, more and more food microbiology training began to emphasize the importance of the basic research and its power of solving practical problems. Therefore, to move this field forward, it is imperative for students, educators and the industry personnel alike to acquire a better understanding of the foodborne pathogens. Hopefully concerted efforts would eventually help formulate strategies that would one day resolve problems with foodborne outbreaks, infections and mortalities.

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Ever since my days in veterinary school, I was fascinated with the field of microbiology. I always wondered how such a small microscopic organisms are capable of causing infections in other living organisms; big or small, young or old, and healthy or immunocompromised. The subject captured my imagi- tion. Many of the same microorganisms that cause diseases in animals also infect humans. In recent days, pathogens of animal origin impose even greater concern with increasing threat of avian influenza to cause pandemic, and spread of deadly bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and many bacterial pathogens such as Listeria, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Yersinia, and Campylobacter. I am especially intrigued by the cunning strategy pat- gens employ for their survival in a host and their exploitation of host cellular machinery to promote their own invasion into the host. Pathogenic mechanism is complex and unraveling that process requires great minds. Today, mic- biologists, cell biologists, and immunologists employing many sophisticated molecular tools are unraveling that secret at a very fast pace. Thus it requires a great deal of efforts to compile and update information in a textbook and it was rather a monumental task. My goal with this book was to paint a bigger picture of pathogenic mechanism of foodborne pathogens, which are responsible for many of modern day outbreaks, and diseases worldwide, and narrate the subject with easy to comprehend illustrations.