Ynes Ortega is a key addition to the University of Georgia
research team at the Griffin, Ga., Center for Food Safety and
Quality Enhancement. Ortega is one of a handful of researchers
in the world studying parasites on food.
“We’re extremely
excited about the new dimension of food
safety expertise Dr. Ortega brings to our center,” said
CFSQE
director Michael Doyle. “Her research into this emerging
area of foodparasitology is certain to have tremendous impact
on understanding the behavior, control and elimination of
food-borne
parasites.”
Either bacteria or parasites usually cause food-borne
illnesses.
E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Camplyobacter are among the
bacteria
that cause these illnesses.
E. coli’s Not the Only Bad
Guy
Ortega’s research, though, focuses on parasites in food and
water. In 1993, she was part of a team of scientists that first
identified Cyclospora, a parasite linked to outbreaks in
raspberries, basil and lettuce.
The parasite was falsely linked to strawberries in a 1995
Texas
outbreak. “The strawberries were blamed,” Ortega said,
“and strawberry growers lost $20 million in one
week.”
At the time, no one knew what was causing the illnesses.
“The
outbreak happened in Texas, but the whole world got
involved,”
she said. “Researchers from universities, the CDC (Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention), FDA (Food and Drug
Administration)
and health officials were all working together.”
Though strawberries were being blamed, the team’s research
didn’t support the speculations. “Later, the outbreak was
epidemiologically linked to raspberry consumption,” Ortega
said.
Parasites Need Humans to
Survive
Unlike bacteria, parasites need human hosts to survive and
multiply. This makes the work of researchers like Ortega much
harder.
“We can’t multiply Cyclospora in the lab to study
them,”
she said. “We have to take samples from sick people. It’s
hard to study a parasite you can’t reproduce.”
On the positive side, parasites seem easier to kill in humans.
“Bacterial outbreaks are fast, and they kill fast,”
Ortega said. “On the other hand, parasites need time to
multiply.
So the process takes longer.”
Medication isn’t required to get rid of some parasites.
“Our
bodies fight them with our immune systems,” she said.
Other parasites require medications, which aren’t always
effective.
“Basically, you have to live with two to four weeks of
diarrhea
if the medication doesn’t work,” she said.
A Strong Immune System is Your Best
Defense
As with food-borne illnesses caused by bacteria, parasite
illnesses
hit those with low immune systems harder.
“Currently, there is no efficient treatment for
Cryptosporidium
infections,” she said. “And they can be life
threatening.
The best defense you can have against parasites is a strong
immune
system.”
In her UGA lab, Ortega is studying the biology of these
parasites.
She’s trying to find how to isolate them and detect them on
food.
“The water industry has some experience and methods of
detecting parasites,” she said. “But the food industry
doesn’t.”
By training, Ortega is a medical parasitologist. She is
working
to adapt detection methods used in the medical field. “We
have to find out how to detect them and how to stop them,”
she said.