One of the Professor Chair Holders of IPB: Foodborne Diseases Equal to the Total Number of Contagious illnesses
An estimated 600 (six hundred) million and 420,000 (four hundred twenty thousand) fall ill and die after eating unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances. Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG) established by the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded the impacts of disease burden caused by 31 foodborne agents is the outstanding Incident (kejadian luar biasa KLB).
Bacteria, fungi (such as yeasts and molds), protozoa, viruses, algae, and some parasites are all types of microorganisms. They are the cause of many diseases in humans, animals, and plants. Moreover, microorganisms dramatically reduces the quality of life and even death. The disease-causing microorganisms are called pathogens, and the foodborne pathogens can seriously affect anyone and even cause the loss of trade, denial of export, foreign exchange loss, low levels of trust and confidence in government levels and industry, from the international community.
This was expressed by one of the Professor Chair Holders of the Faculty of Agricultural Technology of Bogor Agricultural University (FATETA IPB, Prof. Ratih Dewanti, in his scientific oration on "Pendekatan Pasangan Pangan-Patogen untuk Membangun Keamanan Pangan di Indonesia = Food-Pathogens Approach to Develop Food Security in Indonesia".
In her presentation held at the Auditorium Andi Hakim Nasution, Dramaga Campus, Bogor, on 9 April 2016, Prof. Ratih stated that in the FERG WHO Report WHO put Indonesia together with Thailand and Srilanka in the 4th rank for areas with security burden.
About 40 percent children under five account for one third of deaths from foodborne disease. The most frequent causes of foodborne illness were diarrheal disease agents, particularly norovirus and Campylobacter spp. Diarrheal disease agents, especially non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica, were also responsible for the death. Other main causes of diarrheal FBD burden were enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae in low-income subregions, and Campylobacter spp. in high-income subregions.
She explained that diseases caused by the 31 hazards in 2010 was 33 million DALYs (Disability Adjusted Lost Years). Leading causes of years lost due to disability in missing years is comparable to the burden of the three major communicable diseases namely malaria, 55 million DALYs, 44 million DALYs tuberculosis and HIV / AIDS 92 million DALYs.
It is will be the huge homework for Indonesia to improve its food security, especially the microbiological safety. Without sufficient data about the essential information about causes and prevention, and a table of common foodborne, frequency of isolation of listeria species in foods, the conclusions and proposed handling procedures tend to be generic concepts. E.g. generic efforts to improve sanitation and hygiene.
"As a precaution, assuring safe products is a prerequisite for a consumer business' survival. Hygiene measures related to production conditions, healthy operating and sanitary facilities must be available both in fields and in packaging stations of food producers. Control that assure the elimination or destruction of food pathogens to safe limits is really required. Many different disease-causing microbes, can contaminate foods, so there are many different foodborne infections, "she explained. (Wied)
