Foodborne and waterborne infectious diseases - Contributing factors and solutions to new and reemerging pathogens

Demographic changes and complexities in food production, combined with comp lacency about the role of infectious diseases in general and the safety of the US food supply in particular, have brought about a resurgence in foodbo rne and waterborne infectious diseases ansi, with it, challenges that are u nprecedented in recent times. A vigorous effort is already under way to ens ure that food and water supplies are safe. This renewed attention to food a nd water safety must not be an interim response to a perceived short-term t hreat but, rather, a long-term effort to protect the population from pathog enic microorganisms whose wily adaptations will require constant vigilance.