The World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have, for the first time in one report, catalogued the foodborne viruses in terms of their rate of occurrence and severity. The effort is part of concerted efforts to understand and, subsequently, reduce the burden that results from virus-induced foodborne diseases globally.

Key Findings
Top Foodborne Viruses Ranked:

• Norovirus was the most frequent cause of viral foodborne illness, accounting for approximately 125 million cases and 35,000 deaths per year.

• Hepatitis A and E viruses were ranked more clinically severe than norovirus but second to it in prevalence.

• Other viruses included; rotavirus, sapovirus, enterovirus, astrovirus, and enteric adenovirus in the third category, but very few data on food attribution.

Virus-Food Combinations:

• Norovirus: Usually associated with prepared foods, frozen berries, and shellfish.

• Hepatitis A: Usually associated with the same foods as norovirus.

• Hepatitis E: It occurs in pork and wild game, but with geographic variation.

Global Burden and Public Health Impact:

• Hepatitis A leads to 14 million cases and 28,000 deaths each year; foodborne cases of Hepatitis E are not quantified.

• Hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable condition and is notifiable disease in most countries.

Identified challenges:

• Detection Issues: The standardized methods existing detect viral nucleic acids but cannot determine infectivity.

• Food Chain Contamination: Food can be contaminated at different stages, from farm to fork, mainly because of the presence of infected individuals.

• Emerging Issues: There have been associated foodborne outbreaks due to new viruses such as tick-borne encephalitis via raw milk and Nipah virus via contaminated food.

Recommendations by Experts:

• Countries should have capacity building to enhance detection of foodborne viruses, especially by training and advance methods.

• This requires improved molecular detection techniques and careful interpretation of results.

• Understanding the impact of climate change on foodborne virus transmission requires further research.

Upcoming FAO Research on Clostridium Species Relatedly, FAO calls for data and experts to close the knowledge gap on Clostridium species in food. It has targeted its information-gathering activities toward understanding the behavior of Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens, and Clostridium difficile for the establishment of efficient prevention strategies.There should now be an urgency in light of improved surveillance, risk assessments, and international cooperation on the reduction of the food-borne viral burden globally. Future efforts, including species of Clostridium by the FAO, offer a new focus around the world toward food safety.

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