Food-Borne Illnesses

Millions of cases of food-borne illnesses occur annually in the United States. These food-borne illnesses can range from mild aggravations to life-threatening situations. Clinical microbiology laboratories play an important part in the detection of these illnesses by identifying and reporting the infections to public health officials, who use the data to detect food-borne outbreaks. This article highlights the more common causes of food-borne illness, symptoms, diagnosis, and prevention.