Molecular Typing Methods for Tracking Foodborne Microorganisms

Food-borne illness remains a major problem throughout the world. In the United States, for example, it is estimated that there are over 48 million illnesses each year associated with the consumption of contaminated foods. Of those with known etiologies, approximately 39% are associated with bacterial pathogens. These bacterial infections often tend to be more severe than their viral counterparts resulting in approximately 64% of hospitalizations and deaths each year from food-borne pathogens. Thus, being able to get to the source of the contamination of foods is an important endeavour to begin to develop strategies to lessen the burden of bacterial food-borne illness on the human population. This book is a useful reference to students, practitioners and food safety scientists who desire to gain a fundamental understanding of the different options available for molecular typing of food-borne pathogens.