Zoonosis and Foodborne Diseases in Pakistan

• Published in: Liaquat National Journal of Primary Care 2022-06, Vol.4 (1), p.75-76
• Main Authors: Vitorino Modesto dos Santos, Taciana Arruda Modesto Sugai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2707-3521; 2708-9134
• DOI: 10.37184/lnjpc.2707-3521.4.3

RESPECTED EDITOR, Infectious foodborne disease (IFBD) due to improper food and water management is a challenge for public health and an economic problem mainly in developing countries [1-3]. Poor hygiene status, bad food standards, and illiteracy are predisposing factors [1]. Frequency, severity, and mortality due to IFBD are higher in more prone individuals, including children under five-year-old and the elderly; pregnant women; patients with organ transplantation, malignancy, chemotherapy, AIDS, or chronic liver disease [1]. Pakistan and Brazil also undergo effects of this preventable condition, and the digestive route is common in infections by viruses, bacteria, fungi, or parasites carried through the ingestion of contaminated water or meat, and not well-cooked foods [1-3] Norovirus (44%), Toxoplasma (18%), Listeria (15%), Clostridium (8%), Salmonella (8%), and Campylobacter (7%) are the most common agents of IFBD in Pakistan. Campylobacter is found in raw chicken (48%), raw beef (10.9%), raw mutton (5.1%), vegetables, fruit salads (40.9%), sandwiches (32%), cheese (11%) and milk (10.2%) [1]. Brucellosis is a zoonosis with high priority by the Pakistan National Institute of Health, including the control program that was implemented for the period of 2018–2023 [2]. Worldwide, brucellosis is the most transmissible zoonotic disease after rabies, and human infections are more prevalent in regions where the animal infection is endemic [2]. Brucellosis prevails among the high human populations with intensive animal farming. This severe IFBD is very frequently related to consuming unpasteurized dairy milk, and major challenges include an absence of permanent programs of disease control and lack of coordination among agricultural, environmental, livestock and health activities [2]. Echinococcus granulosus is also another major concern in Pakistan’s southern agricultural areas with activities of extensive livestock raising sheep, goats, cows, and buffaloes [3]. The presence of cystic echinococcosis was detected in 9% of the examined animals, with the following prevalence: buffaloes 12%, sheep 10%, cows 9%, and goats 5.1% [3]. Evaluations revealed unilocular (98%) and multilocular (2%) cysts, indicating that the infections by E. granulosus and E. multilocularis are coexisting in the same region. Besides human IFBD, morbidity and mortality of the animals, there is economic prejudice due to the sale loss of the livers where hydatid cysts predominate (64.4%) [3]. D