Pathogenesis, clinical characteristics, diagnostics and treatment of bacterial foodborne diseases

Abstract

Foodborne diseases are quite common, however, accurate data are not available because patients do not visit doctors with mild, rapidly resolving symptoms and diagnostic tests are not performed. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that, in the USA, 1 in 6 citizens gets food poisoning yearly. Symptoms of intoxication are due to the toxins produced by bacteria, mostly by Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. These bacteria can survive in not properly stored or heated food, including S. aureus contaminated breastmilk. They can multiply and produce toxins causing intoxications. The gastrointestinal symptoms start 3–12 hours after consumption of the contaminated food and resolve in 24 hours. Clostridium botulinum causes severe neurological symptoms that should be suspected after consumption of home-made cans, smoked hams and sausages. The disease caused by Clostridioides difficile is not a foodborne one, but C. difficile causes severe infection via its toxins. Another problem is that C. difficile infection recurs in 20–30% of cases. Due to the increasing incidence of foodborne diseases, it is worth to learn the precise clinical and laboratory diagnostic algorithms including sampling, storage and transportation of samples, cultivation of bacteria and differential diagnosis of these diseases, furthermore the most up-to-date symptomatic and causative treatment options like antibiotic combinations, stool transplantation and monoclonal antibodies.