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Port health
Published in Stephen Battersby, Clay's Handbook of Environmental Health, 2023
Gastrointestinal disease – gastroenteritis can occur in several ways; either where the person acquires a pathogenic micro-organism directly from someone else and develops illness, or where the micro-organism is carried in food or drinking water and causes infection when consumed or from environmental sources (e.g. door handles). The infections can be caused by viruses, bacteria or protozoa. Gastroenteritis can also be caused by intoxication, where a bacterium or fungus has grown on foodstuffs releasing toxins which when eaten later, causes illness.
Human and livestock pathogens and their control during composting
Published in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2022
Bacterial pathogens are a leading cause of gastrointestinal diseases (Department of Health and Human Services, 2018). Prevalence of bacterial pathogens depends on the age, health, and diet of human and animal populations (Hutchinson et al., 2005). Most of the disease burden can be attributed to bacterium Campylobacter, followed in descending order by Salmonella and Shigella. Although less common, E. coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes are also of concern because of their severe consequences for humans.
Nanomaterial-induced toxicity in pathophysiological models representative of individuals with pre-existing medical conditions
Published in Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, 2023
Sreejesh Sreedharan, Georgios Zouganelis, Samantha J Drake, Gyanendra Tripathi, Ali Kermanizadeh
Gastrointestinal disease affects the esophagus, stomach, intestines, rectum as well as the liver, gall bladder and pancreas. In that sense, our use of sub-heading “gastrointestinal tract” is not entirely accurate. The focus on the review for the “gastrointestinal tract” was solely the intestines. The most prevalent intestinal disease currently affecting the general population is inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which is a term used to describe Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. It is believed that the prevalence of IBD in 2016 was 142 out of every 10,000 adults. In addition, the prevalence increased between 2006 and 2016 by 34% (Freeman et al. 2021). Crohn’s disease might initiate transmural inflammation and potentially affect any part of the GIT (most commonly, the terminal ileum or the perianal region). Crohn’s disease is often associated with complications such as abscesses, fistulas and strictures (Maharshak et al. 2008). In contrast, ulcerative colitis is typified by mucosal inflammation and limited to the colon (Lai et al. 2021). Despite the unknown etiology of IBD, it is generally accepted that progressive inflammation is key in initiation and exacerbation of disease conditions. Considering the fact that the intentional or accidental ingestion of NMs is one of the most important routes of exposure for NMs, it is conceivable that the intestines were the primary focus of investigations in nanotoxicological studies. Examination of published literature showed that numerous studies determined NM-induced effects in models representative of healthy individuals in general populations, yet to the best of our knowledge only two measured particle toxicity in models which represent the diseased gut (Busch et al. 2021; Kämpfer et al. 2021). Due to the small number of studies, it is difficult to form any meaningful conclusions on the significance of pre-existing intestinal disease in NM-induced toxicity. However, since a defective mucosal barrier “leaky gut” is a main characteristic of IBD, (Michielan and D’Inca 2015) it seems logical that this might result in increased translocation of particulates into systemic circulation and subsequent adverse effects in humans. Data suggest that assessment of NM-mediated toxicity in models that are representative of diseased intestines in humans should be further explored.