Research Publications (Food Safety)

A clinically significant risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission by fomites (inanimate surfaces or objects) has been assumed on the basis of studies that have little resemblance to real-life scenarios.

“We're not just fighting a pandemic; we're fighting an infodemic,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's director-general, at the 2020 Munich Security Conference. Fake news, misinformation, and conspiracy theories have become prevalent in the age of social media and have skyrocketed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation is extremely concerning because it undermines trust in health institutions and programmes.

As the far-reaching impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic expand to more and more countries, key questions about transmission dynamics and optimal intervention strategies remain unanswered. In particular, the age profile of susceptibility and infectivity, the frequency of super-spreading events, the amount of transmission in the household, and the contribution of asymptomatic individuals to transmission remain debated.

In December, 2019, COVID-19 was recognised as a novel respiratory disease in Wuhan, China,1 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).2 Accurate and reliable data on SARS-CoV-2 incubation time, secondary attack rate, and transmission dynamics are key to successful containment. In late January, 2020, infection with SARS-CoV-2 was detected in Germany for the first time.

Antimicrobial resistance is of growing concern. To encourage development of new treatments, some commentators have suggested regulators exercise increased flexibility on the clinical evidence required for approval.

In households with young family members in a setting without rotavirus vaccination, norovirus is the dominant acute gastroenteritis pathogen, but rotavirus is associated with more severe disease. There was substantial within-household transmission, both symptomatic and asymptomatic. The study provides key quantities on transmission, which can inform vaccine policy decisions and act as a baseline for impact evaluations in high-income settings.

We read with interest the study by Michaela J Day and colleagues,1 which announced that the correlation between foodborne extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli and human-derived isolates was low, and that the human-to-human, oral–faecal route contributed more to the transmission of human-derived ESBL-producing E coli than the food chain.

The encouraging safety and immunogenicity of ETVAX and benefit of dmLT adjuvant in young children support its further assessment for protective efficacy in children in enterotoxigenic E coli-endemic areas.

An estimated 700 000 soldiers belonging to the Union Army and the Confederate States Army died in the 1861–65 American Civil War.1 Many camp epidemics attributed to dysentery, typhoid fever, measles, smallpox, cholera, and malaria spread quickly among the troops, affecting the Confederate Army more and surely to some extent shaping the outcome of the war.2

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a leading cause of diarrhoea in children in low-income and middle-income countries (children's diarrhoea) and international travellers (travellers' diarrhoea).1,2 ETEC strains produce heterogeneous fimbrial or non-fimbrial adhesins (of which there are >25), which attach bacteria to host receptors for colonisation in human small intestines and deliver heat-labile and heat-stable enterotoxins to small intestine epithelia to disrupt homoeostasis and

In The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the GBD 2017 Non-Typhoidal Salmonella Invasive Disease Collaborators1 estimate the global burden of invasive non-typhoidal salmonella disease using Bayesian meta-regression tools. The results show a high but decreasing number of cases since 2005 with a continuously high case fatality rate, consistent with previous estimates.

In The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Michael R Wiley and colleagues1 report 23 near-complete genome sequences of Lassa virus from Liberia.1 Lassa virus is a member of the Mammarenavirus genus and is the causative agent of Lassa fever, a febrile disease that can be associated with high morbidity and mortality. Lassa virus is maintained in nature as a chronic infection of its natural reservoir Mastomys natalensis, a rodent widely spread in sub-Saharan Africa.

Viral hepatitis is a substantial public health problem with an annual mortality rate of 1·34 million deaths, which is similar to mortality from HIV (1·1 million) and tuberculosis (1·4 million).1 The most common causes of viral hepatitis are the five distinct hepatotropic viruses: hepatitis A to E. Hepatitis B and C have been shown to attack the liver and cause both acute and chronic diseases.

On June 13, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)1 issued a safety alert concerning the risk of serious adverse reactions due to transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms through faecal microbiota transplantations (FMTs). This alert was in response to transmission of an extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli strain from a faeces donor to two immunocompromised recipients.

Strengthening governance is an essential strategy to tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at all levels: global, national, regional, and local. To date, no systematic approach to governance of national action plans on AMR exists. To address this issue, we aimed to develop the first governance framework to offer guidance for both the development and assessment of national action plans on AMR.

Three deaths have been reported in the biggest ever outbreak of listeriosis in Spain, which was first reported on Aug 16. As of Sept 6, 204 cases of listeria infection have been reported in Andalusia, with most cases reported in Seville (n=162). The outbreak has been linked to a pork product made by a company based in Seville. The factory has been closed and the pork products recalled from shops. Five women have also had miscarriages due to their illness.