# An Overview of the Public Health Challenges in Diagnosing and Controlling Human Foodborne Pathogens
## 6 Control of Foodborne Microbial Pathogens
### Development of Vaccines and Immunotherapies  
The use of antibodies as therapeutics on humans and animals to ensure passive immunity for the prevention of pathogen colonization through antibodies generated in biological units is currently in development [302]. The development of vaccines against prominent foodborne bacteria is providing a boost to the efforts at the moment [303]. A Japanese pharmaceutical company, Takeda, is performing phase II clinical trials on a potential norovirus vaccine, after researchers established its efficacy against numerous prevalentviral strains [304]. A consortium to produce vaccines against _Shigella_ and enterotoxigenic _Escherichia coli_ has been funded with USD $50 billion by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation since 2007. Vaccinations, according to studies, result in quick, cost-effective results and establish immunity in an individual or population [305], but sanitation programs are more difficult to implement broadly and take longer to achieve substantial gains [306]. A health economist at the non-profit organization PATH says vaccines can supplement water and food cleanliness changes. Various levels of research are underway to develop vaccines against diseases of the bowel (or \"enteric\"). A number of companies are working on norovirus, and Takeda is one of them. Takeda's vaccine is one of the most advanced available. Norovirus is the cause of gastroenteritis, a diarrhoea disease that kills approximately one million people annually. According to WHO, 35,000 of those deaths occurred as a result of norovirus, which spreads via food.  
There are already a few vaccines available to prevent foodborne illnesses. As a result of an evaluation of evidence indicating that rotavirus vaccination can provide up to 90% protection against the disease in the years following vaccination, WHO added a rotavirus vaccine to its list of recommended vaccines in 2009. Approximately 453,000 children died from rotavirus worldwide in 2008, according to WHO [303]. It is relatively straightforward to produce vaccines for foodborne illnesses for bacteria that impact both affluent and developing countries. A norovirus vaccine, for example, is projected to prevent approximately 1 million to 2.2 million cases of illness in the United States every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In accordance with government estimates, if the vaccination is effective for two years, up to $2.1 billion could be saved in treatment expenditures [307]. In diarrheal endemic countries, only a few licensed vaccinations against various intestinal pathogens are available [308]. Many formulations are in clinical or preclinical development, but none can provide long-term protection, which requires frequent boosters despite efforts to increase safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy. Although several trials are currently carried out, vaccines against foodborne pathogens are difficult to develop because the pathogens can vary significantly in their genetic makeup, making it difficult to create a vaccine that is effective against all strains of a particular pathogen. Additionally, there is a risk of creating a vaccine that could make people sick, so additional safety measures need to be taken into account. We therefore need to collect information on vaccines' safety, tolerability, immunogenicity and protective efficacy in many countries owing to financial, social and political constraints.