Podcast calls for data about rare disease linked with raw freshwater fish
In a Codex podcast, Dr Tim Barkham, Associate Professor at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore, delves into how a new strain of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) was discovered and, with drive and determination, found to be linked to raw freshwater fish. The specific strain responsible for an outbreak in Singapore in 2015 was Streptococcus agalactiae sequence type 283 (ST283).
Barkham was one of 24 experts who contributed to FAO work on the risk of this invasive GBS in freshwater fish. Dr Masami Takeuchi, FAO Food Safety Officer who led the work, said that conducting a risk assessment has been impossible because the data gaps are extensive and no good estimation of risk can currently be made.
“More scientific prevalence data are needed to have a starting point to conduct a risk assessment,” Takeuchi said. “We encourage scientists to look into this issue if raw consumption of freshwater fish is common in their countries, and to publish studies in peer-reviewed journals. Alternatively, sending relevant information and data to FAO is also more than welcome.”
David Massey, Special Advisor with the Codex Secretariat, conducted the podcast interview with Barkham.
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