Emerging Foodborne Diseases and NEHA's Response

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On July 3, 1996, NEHA's Council of Delegates adopted a position on emerging infectious diseases (journal of Environmental Health, October 1996). We defined emerging infectious diseases as "infections that have newly appeared in a population or have existed but are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range, [and which] are currently the leading cause of death worldwide." For the purposes of this column, I am focusing on foodborne diseases.

In the United States, foodborne illnesses affect six million to 80 million people each year, cause 9,000 deaths, and cost an estimated $5 billion. The typical effects of these illnesses - nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea - are well known to most people; however, those of us who work in environmental health know that many of the emerging foodborne diseases may cause chronic sequelae or …