Abstract

Foodborne diseases are increasing at an alarming rate, thereby eliciting constant threat to public health worldwide. Approximately, 200 foodborne cases are caused due to ingestion of contaminated food each year. In developing countries, unhygienic practices are main reasons for foodborne diseases. Precise estimate of population-based data on food borne illnesses are scarce in Pakistan. This review focuses to elucidate etiological cause of foodborne diseases dominant in Pakistan from 1990 to 2018. Various databases were searched, and 88 articles related to foodborne diseases were identified. Around 59 articles were included on quality assessment criteria. We determined dominant pathogens associated with foodborne diseases among all provinces of Pakistan. High numbers of foodborne diseases were reported in Sindh. Whereas, Salmonella was determined as primary cause of foodborne ailments. Most of the reported data on antibiotic resistance was unavailable. Shagella spp were first reported for antibiotic resistance in 1990, and E. coli was reported for multi-drug resistance in 1998. Nevertheless, S. aureus was reported for Methicillinresistant in 2015-16. This study summarize various sources responsible for food-borne illness, of which unhygienic conditions, poor sanitation systems, lack of proper infrastructure and continuous influx of refugees plays key role in escalation of morbidity rate in the region. We emphasize need of active surveillance system in reducing foodborne outbreaks in future and enable policy makers to set appropriate goals in food safety area.

Keywords Food control, drug resistance, food safety, Pakistan