Foodborne Illnesses in Caribbean Countries
Foodborne illness (FBI) in the Caribbean countries is a major concern in the health departments of these nations. Notably, public health in these countries is mainly challenged by the outbreak of foodborne illness, which has been registered for the past 20 years. Due to the growth of livestock production in Caribbean countries, such as Jamaica, meat consumption increases with time, which implies that foodborne illnesses associated with such products rise among the people. Efforts to prevent this problem include; practicing general sanitation by the public, emphasis on health policies, and strengthening regional surveillance.
Governments in Caribbean countries can establish sanitation practices to reduce the prevalence of foodborne diseases among their citizens. Preventive measures against such infection revolve around hygiene and proper handling of food (Silenzio et al., 2016). Through the government and public health initiatives, food for public consumption can be endorsed by quality control agencies to avoid the growth and transmission of the FBI bacteria (Barling, 2018). Similarly, awareness of personal hygiene at the local level should be made to people, especially in impoverished regions. Distribution of the information by public health departments through campaigns and local organizations will help improve food storage practices, which will reduce the survival of pathogens (Trotman et al., 2018). These campaigns emphasize the need to wash hands with soap and to use treated water
Additionally, Caribbean countries can emphasize policies that guide the process of food handling, for instance, health conditions of slaughterhouses and ascertaining the safety of the containers used to transport consumer products by government bodies. Also, policies that aim at reducing the prevalence of FBI should be put in place to avoid economic and health burdens on such nations (Silenzio et al., 2016). Consequently, countries in the Caribbean region should empower health authorities to impose strict handling of public restaurants, hotels, and foodstuffs stalls to avoid frequent incidences of FDIs or a possible outbreak in the future. Besides, travelers should be warned against the high risk of illness by food-related bacteria, such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Shigella, which are high-risk pathogens in the Caribbean countries (Adesiyun, Stewart-Johnson & Rodrigo 2019). Governments in these countries can set out water supply and sanitation services, especially in rural areas. Direct supervision of the food-related factories, such as bakeries and flour mills, will ensure safety standards of diet for consumption by the public are met (Charles, 2019). This perception is based on the idea that food items from factories contain harmful bacteria, for instance, dry cereal products can be exposed to moisture for a long time and breed ochratoxin bacteria.
Finally, surveillance of the FBI is a preventive measure that governments can use to examine the causative agents and the nature of such a problem. Recommendations can be given on the agents and probable environmental hazards, which may result in the outbreak of FBI’s (Guerra, de Almeida & Willingham, 2016). The use of electronic data systems in hospitals provides real-time information on cases of foodborne illness patients (Schneider et al., 2018). Accessing real-time data on every occurrence of the diseases enhances fast treatment, which prevents secondary infections. Excessive use of inorganic fertilizers, which result in a high percentage of chemicals in horticultural vegetables or fruits, should be banned as a way of preventing future outbreaks of the FBI’s (Edelstein & Ben-Hur 2018). Further research on the causative pathogens should be promoted in government laboratories to ensure the preparedness of infections, which may result from contaminated food.
In conclusion, Caribbean countries have a high prevalence of the FBIs, whereby contaminated food and lack of hygiene contribute to high cases. Much information on the signs should be availed to make citizens take action against such infections. Besides, governments should emphasize on setting health standards, which should be followed when handling foods. Preventative measures by health departments can be set out as policies in which every food-related institution should be followed. Also, surveillance of the FBI provides data on prevention measures, which are campaigned throughout Caribbean nations.