Environmental Health Insights

Every year over 500 million people suffer from different kinds of diarrheal diseases. There are more than 250 food-borne diseases. One of the most common of them is salmonellosis. About 2 million cases of salmonellosis and 500 deaths are reported every year in the United States alone.  Salmonellosis is caused by the bacteria, Salmonella . Salmonellosis causes fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and sometimes nausea and vomiting. Generally, Salmonellosis leads to mild illness, but in infants, children, elderly, and immunosuppressed people, it can cause severe illness and lead to hospitalization or even death in worst cases. The bacteria Salmonella can be found in animals – mostly prevailing in animals that are consumed in food such as poultry and cattle, and in animals that are tamed as pets such as dogs, cats, reptiles, and birds.  The bacteria Salmonella can be contracted from animal to human by consuming contaminated food of animal source, i.e., eggs, meat, poultry, and milk....

Oceans cover over 70% of the surface of our planet and the oceanwater comprises over 95% of Earth’s water. This makes oceans the biggest natural resource on Earth. They are vast and deep, hence until recently, dumping and leakage of debris into marine water was never a public health concern. It was generally assumed that the large amount of water of oceans dilutes the trash, chemicals, and other foreign materials that enter the marine environment and therefore no harm is caused due to them. Marine pollution in general occurs when chemicals, trash, or other human-created substances enter our planet’s oceans causing disturbance to marine life and habitats and thus harmfully effecting the marine ecosystems. There are many types of marine pollution such as chemical, physical (trash), light, and noise pollution. Chemical pollution refers to harmful chemicals entering the marine waters resulting from human activities such as use of plastics, fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, o...

There are over 250 foodborne diseases that have been identified so far. Harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical or other foreign substances can enter our bodies if we eat contaminated food. Foodborne diseases are also referred to as “foodborne illnesses” and “food poisoning”. They can be mild or severe, acute or long term, or even life-threatening in worst cases. Every year, there are about 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses occurring worldwide and over 400,000 deaths. Out of over 400,000 deaths, over 120,000 are of children under the age of 5. In U.S. alone, over 40 million people get affected every year. The different kinds of food hazards can be categorized as biological, chemical, and physical. Biological hazards consist of bacteria, viruses, or other parasites such as worms, fungi, or toxins generated from them. Most popular bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses are Salmonella, E. coli, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococc...