I looked at the study of Mead. Actually the 67% caused by viruses are related to the
foodbrone diseases with known agents. However, they estimate that 80%! of foodborne
diseases (e.g. acute gastro-enteritis) are caused by unknown agents.
wytze
Russ Bulluck wrote:
>
> According to Mead et al. (Emerging Infectious diseases vol 5 #5, online at
> http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no5/mead.htm )
> an estimated 76 million people each year contract a "food-related illness." The vast
> majority of these illnesses are _viruses_ (67%)! Norwalk viruses are the main
> problem and are principally transmitted "through contaminated meat carcasses or poor
> personal hygiene practices of infected food handler(s)" ( Jaycus, Emerging Infectious
> diseases vol3 #4 online at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol3no4/jaykus.htm ).
>
> Only 30% of food-borne pathogens are bacterial (and most of those Campylobacter and
> Salmonella, with 1.3% being E. coli strains). The general public doesn't want to
> hear that Joe Blow meat handler is making them sick. They want to blame a bug that
> is an easy enemy. . . The Deadly E. coli!
>
> I'll stop for now. . . (I could go on. I'd likely bore everyone here!) Later. .
> .Russ
>
> Russ Bulluck
> Visiting Post-Doctoral Fellow
> Department of Plant Pathology
> 1 Shields Ave
> UC-Davis
> Davis, CA 95616
> lrbulluck@ucdavis.edu
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> The soil population is so complex that it manifestly cannot
> be dealt with as a whole with any detail by any one person,
> and at the same time it plays so important a part in the soil
> economy that it must be studied.
> --Sir E. John Russell
> The Micro-organisms of the Soil, 1923
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