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How Does Climate Change Affect Salmonella

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Climate Change Impacts; Salmonella Like Campylobacter there are strong links between Salmonella and the environment especially ambient temperature. However, in contrast to Campylobacter there is a much clearer biological mechanism explaining why higher temperature leads to a higher incidence of Salmonella. At elevated ambient temperatures Salmonella reproduction is enhanced. However, in spite of this biological mechanism, UK Infectious Disease experts still do not consider Salmonella to be one of the diseases most likely to be affected by climate change (Semenza et al. 2012). This may be because control measures appear to have substantially reduced the disease burden since the early 1990’s to the point where it is not considered a priority …show more content…

For example the EU Food Hygiene Regulations (EC 2004) sets down basic food hygiene rules across the EU. Regulations such as these provide the UK with resilience against any changes in food-borne disease threats associated with climate change. In addition, the monitoring of the levels of disease-causing agents, such as Salmonella and Campylobacter in food, is essential. Across the UK this is the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency, Public Health bodies (Public Health England, Public Health Wales, Health Protection Scotland, and the Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland) and other public and private bodies. The monitoring of food quality is vitally important for food produced outside of the EU where the UK has less control on production …show more content…

This was recently highlighted by the VTEC O104 outbreak in Germany in 2011 which was identified through health surveillance (Chattaway et al. 2011) and led to measures to control the disease outbreak. In the UK Public Health Bodies of the UK identify food-borne disease. These bodies identify food-borne disease outbreaks as well as longer term trends in incidence. An excellent example of health surveillance leading to adaptation is the report into the deaths of 19 people from Salmonella Typhimurium in 1984 at the Stanley Royd hospital. The report into this outbreak led to food safety improvements across the UK (Hugill 1986). More problematic are incidences of food borne illness imported from overseas where the UK has less ability to investigate and act. However, though the EU wide Rapid Alert System for Food and Feeds the UK is alerted to food safety issues as they arise within other member

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