The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released a “Top Ten” list identifying the food-borne parasites of greatest global concern.
FAO is also developing new guidelines to control the parasites.
The parasites affect the health of millions of people every year, infecting muscle tissues and organs, causing epilepsy, anaphylactic shock, amoebic dysentery and other problems.
Some can live on in our bodies for decades, says the FAO.
Despite their huge social costs and global impacts, information is generally lacking regarding just where these parasites come from, how they live in the human body, and – most importantly – how they make people sick.
As a first step in tackling the problem, the FAO and World Health Organization (WHO) are initially focusing on the 10 food borne parasites with the greatest global impact.
The rankings contained in FAO-WHO report, Multicriteria-based ranking for risk management of food-borne parasites, are based on the parasites’ burden on human health and other factors, and includes information on where they can be found.
The top 10 are:
- Taenia solium (pork tapeworm): In pork
- Echinococcus granulosus (hydatid worm or dog tapeworm): In fresh produce
- Echinococcus multilocularis (a type of tapeworm): In fresh produce
- Toxoplasma gondii (protozoa): In meat from small ruminants, pork, beef, game meat (red meat and organs)
- Cryptosporidium spp.(protozoa): In fresh produce, fruit juice, milk
- Entamoeba histolytica (protozoa): In fresh produce
- Trichinella spiralis (pork worm): In pork
- Opisthorchiidae (family of flatworms): In freshwater fish
- Ascaris spp. (small intestinal roundworms): In fresh produce
- Trypanosoma cruzi (protozoa): In fruit juices
The list and supporting report were developed following a request by the global food standards body, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), for FAO and WHO to review the current status of knowledge on parasites in food and their public health and trade impacts.
FAO’s food safety and quality unit and WHO responded by jointly organizing a global call for information on the problem.
About 21 nations and one regional body responded, followed by an assessment and analysis by 21 experts on the impact of food-borne parasites.
From this work, an initial list of 93 parasites was developed.
The list was then narrowed down to the 24 most damaging parasites based on the following criteria:
1) number of global illnesses,
2) global distribution,
3) acute morbidity,
4) chronic morbidity and,
5) economic impact.
Guidelines to control parasites
The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene is developing new guidelines for the control of these parasites.
FAO and WHO are supporting the process by providing scientific and technical information.
The aim is to develop new standards for the global food trade that will help countries control the presence of these parasites in the food chain.
“This top 10 is a more general, global perspective and does not necessarily reflect parasite rankings at a national level where each country may have more precise information,” said Renata Clarke, head of food safety and quality at FAO.
“But considering the problems they cause, these parasites do not get the attention they deserve. We hope that by releasing a top 10 ranking we can increase awareness among policy makers, the media and the general public about this major public health issue.”
The FAO-WHO report lists a number of ways to reduce the risk of parasite infections.
For farmers, it advises the use of organic fertilizer, particularly on produce, should be closely monitored to ensure it is composted properly and all fecal matter is removed.
Water quality must also be closely monitored.
For consumers, it advises that all meat should be well cooked and only clean water should be used to wash and prepare vegetables.
Parasites by continent
Classified biologically as protozoa and helminths (but better known as tapeworms, flatworms and roundworms), it is difficult to know how widespread parasites are globally because in many countries it is not compulsory to notify public health authorities of their presence.
- In Europe, more than 2,500 people are affected by food borne parasitic infections each year.
In 2011 there were 268 cases of trichinellosis and 781 cases of echinococcosis recorded in the EU.
- In Asia, there is no precise national data but parasitic diseases are known to be widely spread and are recognized as major public health problems in many countries.
- In most African nations there is no data at all on the prevalence of food borne parasites in humans because there of a general lack of surveillance systems.
- In the US, Neurocysticercosis, caused by Taenia solium, is the single most common infectious cause of seizures in some areas of the US where 2 000 people are diagnosed with neurocysticercosis every year.
Toxoplasmosis is a leading cause of food-borne illness and death.
