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Review
. 2020 Apr 30:14:1178630220913365.
doi: 10.1177/1178630220913365. eCollection 2020.

Cockroaches and Food-borne Pathogens

Affiliations
Review

Cockroaches and Food-borne Pathogens

Eric S Donkor. Environ Health Insights. .

Abstract

Food-borne disease is a widespread and escalating public health problem globally. About a quarter of the microorganisms isolated from cockroaches are food-borne pathogens including Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi, Rotavirus, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Cryptosporidium parvum. Thus, cockroaches could be an important reservoir and mechanical vector of food-borne pathogens. Generally, the role of cockroaches in human infections is poorly understood and has been an issue of debate for several years. This article aims to elucidate the possible role of cockroaches in food-borne infections by reviewing the relevant research publications.

Keywords: Escherichia coli O157:H7; antibiotic resistance; cockroach; food-borne pathogens.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests:The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

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