Epidemiology of Viral Foodborne Disease

Virus transmission via foods begins with fecal shedding of viruses by humans. Foodborne viruses infect perorally: These same agents have alterative fecal-oral routes, including person- to-person transmission and the water vehicle. No zoonotic viruses are transmitted via foods in North America. Viruses rank high among foodborne disease agents in the United States, even though observation, diagnosis, and reporting of foodborne viral disease are inefficient. Risk assessment in developed countries considers viral infection rates and personal hygiene of food handlers, as well as the opportunities for contamination of shellfish and other foods by untreated sewage. Licensing of a vaccine against hepatitis A that could be administered to food handlers in North America would provide an important means of preventing foodborne viral disease. However, the most general concern in preventing all foodborne viral disease is to keep all human fecal contamination out of food.