Bacterial Toxins: Detection, Management and Risk Assessment

Bacterial toxins account for 10-15% of all infectious disease cases worldwide, mainly through the ingestion of contaminated food and water. Although the pathogenic mechanisms of some foodborne and waterborne diseases caused by bacterial toxins are well studied, the literature continues to describe new contamination sources and new toxins. In addition, rising consumer demand for minimally processed chilled foods and alternatives to animal-based products, together with the development of innovative production processes, poses new challenges for food technology and for public health authorities involved in official food control and the management of foodborne diseases.

In light of these developments, there is a need to develop:

- Detection methods and standardisation.

- Point-of-care methods for clinical sample analysis and support for clinical diagnosis.

- Rapid methods for testing foods.

- Genomic and metagenomic approaches for source attribution and risk assessment.

- New regulatory frameworks to cover all emerging areas of interest for public health.

Finally, we need to better characterise new toxins, develop models to describe their pathogenic mechanisms, and develop risk mitigation strategies.

This Special Issue of Toxins aims mainly (but not exclusively) to address weaknesses in the aforementioned areas of interest for bacterial toxins. Original research articles, reviews and case reports are welcome.

Dr. Fabrizio Anniballi
Guest Editor

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