Reporting Foodborne Disease Outbreaks
Author Information
Author(s): Kirk Martyn, Musto Jennie, Gregory Joy, Fullerton Kathleen
Primary Institution: Australian Government Department of Health & Ageing
Hypothesis
What are the obligations of national authorities to report foodborne disease outbreaks under the International Health Regulations (2005)?
Conclusion
The study found that 43% of the foodborne outbreaks associated with imported foods would have required notification to the World Health Organization under the International Health Regulations.
Supporting Evidence
- Australia identifies 2–3 outbreaks associated with imported foods each year.
- 14 of 768 foodborne outbreaks from 2001 to 2007 were linked to internationally distributed foods.
- 6 of these outbreaks would have required notification to WHO under IHR (2005).
Takeaway
This study looked at foodborne disease outbreaks in Australia and found that many of them should have been reported to the World Health Organization because they involved imported foods.
Methodology
The study reviewed foodborne outbreaks in Australia from 2001 to 2007 that implicated internationally distributed foods and assessed them against the IHR decision-making algorithm.
Limitations
The study only considered outbreaks that resulted in human illness and did not account for potential outbreaks that did not lead to illness.
Participant Demographics
The outbreaks affected individuals in Australia, with a total of 542 persons affected.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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