Pathology of food-borne infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract: an update

Abstract

Although naturally occurring food-borne pathogens cause more than 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5000 deaths annually in the United States, many more infections are unrecognized and unreported. In addition, mass production and distribution of food, on a global rather than a local scale, make it possible for localized instances of contamination to spread quickly to other states, provinces, and countries. Infectious organisms are often recovered by microbiological methods, but surgical pathologists may play a very valuable role in diagnosis. This review will focus on the diagnosis of food-borne infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, including those that mimic other inflammatory conditions of the gut (such as ischemia or idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease); available diagnostic methods; and gastrointestinal infectious processes that pathologists should be aware of in terms of potential biologic weapons threats.