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Staphylococcus aureus as a Foodborne Pathogen

  • Foodborne Pathogens (S Johler, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

We present recent insights on S. aureus as a foodborne pathogen, thus providing readers with an update of current findings impacting prevention and control measures.

Recent Findings

Advances in disease burden assessment show the burden of S. aureus foodborne disease around the globe. In recent years, recent research has provided valuable new data improving the understanding of the pathobiology of S. aureus foodborne disease as well as proteomics and genomics of this foodborne pathogen. In particular, recent findings shed new light on the role of newly described enterotoxins and methicillin-resistant S. aureus. These new findings guide the way towards improved prevention and control strategies.

Summary

S. aureus is the leading cause of foodborne intoxications worldwide. Control strategies are focused on hygiene measures to avoid food contamination and limit S. aureus growth. Outbreak investigations remain challenging and would strongly benefit from additional data on enterotoxin formation under stress conditions and novel tools allowing for detection of newly described enterotoxins.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Reference Laboratory for coagulase-positive staphylococci incl. Staphylococcus aureus, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany

    Alexandra Fetsch

  2. Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Sophia Johler

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  1. Alexandra Fetsch
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  2. Sophia Johler
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Correspondence to Sophia Johler.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Foodborne Pathogens

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Fetsch, A., Johler, S. Staphylococcus aureus as a Foodborne Pathogen. Curr Clin Micro Rpt 5, 88–96 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40588-018-0094-x

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