This article covers the current published literature related to the use of social media in food safety and infectious disease communication. The aim was to analyze literature recommendations and draw conclusions about how best to utilize social media for food safety risk communication going forward. A systematic literature review was conducted, and 24 articles were included for analysis. The inclusion criteria were (i) original peer-reviewed articles and (ii) primary focus on communication through social media about food safety and/or infectious diseases. Studies were coded for themes about social media applications, benefits, limitations, and best practices. Trust and personal beliefs were important drivers of social media use. The wide reach, immediacy, and information gathering capacities of social media were frequently cited benefits. Suggestions for social media best practices were inconsistent among studies, and study designs were highly variable. More evidence-based suggestions are needed to better establish guidelines for social media use in food safety and infectious disease risk communication. The information gleaned from this review can be used to create effective messages for shaping food safety behaviors.

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Tourism and residential population growth are increasing on the Galápagos Islands, yet the effects of this growth on environmental quality are not well understood. The goal of this study was to characterize recreational water quality on one of the inhabited islands of the Galápagos (Isla San Cristóbal). Five beaches were sampled to allow a comparison between beaches with and without discharge of human sewage, and to help elucidate the effects of human activities in this unique environment. Enterococcus concentrations were quantified using IDEXX Enterolert ® and antibiotic resistance testing was performed on Escherichia coli isolated by membrane filtration. All study beaches sometimes exceeded international guidelines for recreational water quality, and significantly higher Enterococcus concentrations were found near sites subjected to sewage discharge (p < 0.01). These sewage-impacted sites also had higher levels of antibiotic resistant E. coli, suggesting that human activities are increasing the levels of resistance that would occur naturally. Future studies should characterize the extent of this impact both spatially and temporally. The results of this study demonstrate that sewage can contribute antibiotic resistant bacteria to marine waters and suggest that human impacts in the Galápagos Islands extend to the environmental resistome. This impact is likely common in areas across the globe wherever tourists frequently carry and use antibiotics.

Background Diarrhoeal outcomes in children are often ascertained using caregiver-reported symptoms, which are subject to a variety of biases and methodological challenges. One source of bias is the time window used for reporting diarrhoeal illness and the ability of caregivers to accurately recall episodes in children. Methods Diarrhoea period prevalence in children under five was determined using two similarly administered, nationally representative household surveys: Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) (1-week recall, N = 14 603) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) (2-week recall, N = 66 717). Countries included in the analysis were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda. Diarrhoea period prevalence estimates were compared and water, sanitation and hygiene risk factors were analysed. Results Childhood diarrhoea prevalence using 1-week recall (PMA2020) pooled across countries was 21.4% [95% confidence interval (CI): 19.9%, 22.9%] versus 16.0% using 2-week recall (DHS) (95% CI: 15.4%, 16.5%). In stratified analyses for all five countries, the number of diarrhoea cases detected was consistently higher using 1-week recall versus 2-week recall. The key risk factors identified in the PMA2020 data that were not associated with diarrhoeal episodes or were attenuated in the DHS data included: the main sanitation classifications for households, disposal method used for child faeces, number of household members and wealth quintiles. Conclusions For nationally representative household surveys assessing childhood diarrhoea period prevalence, a 2-week recall period may underestimate diarrhoea prevalence compared with a 1-week period. The household sanitation facility and practices remain key risk factors for diarrhoeal disease in children under five.

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Few food waste interventions focus on drivers distinct to particular food groups, such as seafood. Given suggestive evidence that seafood may be wasted at exceptionally high rates, and given its environmental, economic and nutritional value, this research provides insights into seafood-specific consumer food waste interventions. We performed three complementary sub-studies to examine consumer and retailer views regarding seafood waste and frozen seafood as well as perceptions of an intervention providing chef-created recipes to promote cooking frozen seafood without defrosting. The findings indicated an openness to a direct-from-frozen intervention among many consumers and retailers, and suggested seven potential barriers to adoption, along with ways to address them. Underlying the potential for this intervention, and more broadly contributing to addressing consumer seafood waste, the research formed the basis of a new “4 Ps” concept model to characterize the drivers of discarded seafood: proficiency, perceptions/knowledge, perishability, and planning/convenience. These factors shape waste through pathways that include behavioral protocols; taste preferences; waste-prevention efforts; and food safety concerns, precautions, and errors. This research suggested the benefit of testing a larger-scale direct-from-frozen intervention using insights from the concept model and, more broadly, the benefits of exploring approaches to food waste prevention rooted in specific food groups.

Contamination of fomites by human norovirus (HuNoV) can initiate and prolong outbreaks. Fomite swabbing is necessary to predict HuNoV exposure and target interventions. Historically, swab recovered HuNoV has been measured by molecular methods that detect viral RNA but not infectious HuNoV. The recent development of HuNoV cultivation in human intestinal enteroids (HIEs) enables detection of infectious HuNoV. It is unknown if the swabbing process and swab matrix will allow for cultivation of fomite recovered HuNoV. We used HIEs to culture swab-recovered HuNoV GII.4 Sydney from experimentally infected surfaces—a hospital bed tray (N = 32), door handle (N = 10), and sanitizer dispenser (N = 11). Each surface was swabbed with macrofoam swabs premoistened in PBS plus 0.02% Tween80. Swab eluate was tested for infectious HuNoV by cultivation in HIE monolayers. Infectious HuNoV can be recovered from surfaces inoculated with at least 105 HuNoV genome equivalents/3 cm2. In total, 57% (N = 53) of recovered swabs contained infectious HuNoV detected by HIEs. No difference in percent positive swabs was observed between the three surfaces at p = 0.2. We demonstrate that fomite swabbing can be combined with the HIE method to cultivate high titer infectious HuNoV from the environment, filling a significant gap in HuNoV detection. Currently, high titers of HuNoV are required to measure growth in HIEs and the HIE system precludes absolute quantification of infectious viruses. However, the HIE system can provide a binary indication of infectious HuNoV which enhances existing detection methods. Identification of infectious HuNoVs from swabs can increase monitoring accuracy, enhance risk estimates, and help prevent outbreaks.