Monitoring the incidence and causes of diseases potentially transmitted by food in Australia: Annual report of the OzFoodNet Network, 2008
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2009.33.42Keywords:
foodborne disease, surveillance, disease outbreakAbstract
In 2008, OzFoodNet sites reported 25,260 notifications of 9 diseases or conditions that are commonly transmitted by food. The most frequently notified infections were Campylobacter (15,535 notifications) and Salmonella (8,310 notifications). Public health authorities provided complete serotype and phage type information on 94% of all Salmonella infections in 2008. The most common Salmonella serotype notified in Australia during 2008 was Salmonella Typhimurium, and the most common phage type was S. Typhimurium 135. During 2008, OzFoodNet sites reported 1,545 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness; affecting 25,555 people and resulting in 691 people being hospitalised. There were 99 deaths during these outbreaks. The majority (83%, 1,276/1,545) of outbreaks were due to personto-person spread, but 7% (104/1,545) were transmitted by contaminated food. Foodborne outbreaks affected 1,454 persons including 96 hospitalisations. Eleven deaths were reported during these outbreaks. For these foodborne outbreaks, Salmonella was the most common aetiological agent and restaurants were the most common setting where foods were prepared. Twenty of these foodborne outbreaks were related to the consumption of eggs; the majority (n=18) of these outbreaks were due to various phage types of S. Typhimurium. This report summarises the incidence of disease potentially transmitted by food in Australia and details outbreaks associated with various food vehicles in 2008. These data assist agencies to identify emerging disease, develop food safety policies, and prevent foodborne illness. Commun Dis Intell 2009;33(4):389–413.
Downloads
References
Hall G, Kirk MD, Becker N, Gregory JE, Unicomb L, Millard G, et al. Estimating foodborne gastroenteritis, Australia. Emerg Infect Dis 2005;11(8):1257–1264.
Centers for Disease Control and P. Preliminary FoodNet Data on the incidence of infection with pathogens transmitted commonly through food—10 States, 2008. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2009;58(13):333–337.
Allos BM, Moore MR, Griffin PM, Tauxe RV. Surveillance for sporadic foodborne disease in the 21st century: the FoodNet perspective. Clin Infect Dis 2004;38 Suppl 3:S115–S120.
Hocking AD, ed. Foodborne microorganisms of public health significance. 6th edn: Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Incorporated; 2003.
Majowicz SE, Edge VL, Fazil A, McNab WB, Doré KA, Sockett PN, et al. Estimating the under-reporting rate for infectious gastrointestinal illness in Ontario. Can J Public Health 2005;96(3):178–181.
Hall G, Raupach J, Yohannes K, Halliday L, Unicomb L, Kirk M. An estimate of under-reporting of foodborne notifiable diseases: Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shiga toxin-like Escherichia coli (STEC). National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health Working Paper No. 52, 2006.
Kirk MD, McKay I, Hall GV, Dalton CB, Stafford R, Unicomb L, et al. Food safety: foodborne disease in Australia: The OzFoodNet experience. Clin Infect Dis 2008;47(3):392–400.
Lindenmayer P. Networking for health protection: the Communicable Diseases Network Australia. Commun Dis Intell 2001;25(4):266–269.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Population by age and sex, Australian states and territories, June 2008. ABS Cat. no. 3101.0. Canberra; 2008.
Australian Government Department of Customs. Check-in ports 2007.
Ashbolt R, Kirk MD. Salmonella Mississippi infections in Tasmania: the role of native Australian animals and untreated drinking water. Epidemiol Infect 2006;134(6):1257–1265.
OzFoodNet Working Group. Monitoring the incidence and causes of diseases potentially transmitted by food in Australia: annual report of the OzFoodNet Network, 2007. Commun Dis Intell 2008;32(4):400–424.
National Health and Medical Research Council. The Australian Immunisation Handbook. 7th edn. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service; 2000.
Hanna JN, Hills SL, Humphreys JL. Impact of hepatitis A vaccination of Indigenous children on notifications of hepatitis A in north Queensland. Med J Aust 2004;181(9):482–485.
Combs BG, Raupach JC, Kirk MD. Surveillance of Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli in Australia. Commun Dis Intell 2005;29(4):366–369.
Stephens N, Sault C, Firestone SM, Lightfoot D, Bell C. Large outbreaks of Salmonella Typhimurium phage type 135 infections associated with the consumption of products containing raw egg in Tasmania. Commun Dis Intell 2007;31(1):118–124.
Stephens N, Coleman D, Shaw K. Recurring outbreaks of Salmonella Typhimurium phage type 135 associated with the consumption of products containing raw egg in Tasmania. Commun Dis Intell 2008;32(4):466–468.
OzFoodNet Working Group. OzFoodNet quarterly report, 1 January to 31 March 2008. Commun Dis Intell 2008;32:267–271.
OzFoodNet Working Group. OzFoodNet quarterly report, 1 April to 30 June 2008. Commun Dis Intell 2008;32(3):335–340.
OzFoodNet Working Group. OzFoodNet quarterly report, 1 October to 31 December 2008. Commun Dis Intell 2009;33(1):53–58.
Vally H, Hall G, Scallan E, Kirk MD, Angulo FJ. Higher rate of culture-confirmed Campylobacter infections in Australia than in the USA: is this due to differences in healthcare-seeking behaviour or stool culture frequency? Epidemiol Infect 2009;137(12):1751–1758.
Conaty S, Bird P, Bell G, Kraa E, Grohmann G, McAnulty JM. Hepatitis A in New South Wales, Australia from consumption of oysters: the first reported outbreak. Epidemiol Infect 2000;124(1):121–130.
Hall G, Kirk M, Department of Health and Ageing. Foodborne illness in Australia : annual incidence circa 2000. Canberra: Department of Health and Ageing; 2005.
Tam CC, Higgins CD, Neal KR, Rodrigues LC, Millership SE, O’Brien SJ. Chicken consumption and use of acid-suppressing medications as risk factors for Campylobacter enteritis, England. Emerg Infect Dis 2009;15(9):1402–1408.
Stafford RJ, Schluter PJ, Wilson AJ, Kirk MD, Hall G, Unicomb L, et al. Population-attributable risk estimates for risk factors associated with Campylobacter infection, Australia. Emerg Infect Dis 2008;14(6):895–901.
Mullner P, Jones G, Noble A, Spencer SE, Hathaway S, French NP. Source attribution of food-borne zoonoses in New Zealand: a modified Hald model. Risk Anal 2009;29(7):970–984.
New Zealand Food and Safety Authority. Media release. New Zealand leads world on controlling dangerous bacteria. Available from: http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/publications/media-releases/2009/2009-10-15-campy-codex-work.htm Accessed on 27 November 2008.
Swaminathan B, Gerner-Smidt P, Ng LK, Lukinmaa S, Kam KM, Rolando S, et al. Building PulseNet International: an interconnected system of laboratory networks to facilitate timely public health recognition and response to foodborne disease outbreaks and emerging foodborne diseases. Foodborne Pathog Dis 2006;3(1):36–50.
Chen LH, Wilson ME, Davis X, Loutan L, Schwartz E, Keystone J, et al. Illness in long-term travelers visiting GeoSentinel clinics. Emerg Infect Dis 2009;15(11):1773–1782.
Ward K, McAnulty J. Hepatitis A: who in NSW is most at risk of infection? N S W Public Health Bull 2008;19(1–2):32–35.
Lynch MF, Tauxe RV, Hedberg CW. The growing burden of foodborne outbreaks due to contaminated fresh produce: risks and opportunities. Epidemiol Infect 2009;137(3):307–315.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Media release. Primary production and processing standard for eggs. Available from: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/thecode/primaryproductionprocessingstandards/eggstandard/index.cfm Accessed on 27 November 2009.
Hall GV, Kirk MD, Ashbolt R, Stafford R, Lalor K. Frequency of infectious gastrointestinal illness in Australia, 2002: regional, seasonal and demographic variation. Epidemiol Infect 2006;134(1):111–118.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2009 Communicable Diseases Intelligence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
