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. 2005 Aug;11(8):1257-64.
doi: 10.3201/eid1108.041367.

Estimating foodborne gastroenteritis, Australia

Gillian Hall  1 , Martyn D Kirk, Niels Becker, Joy E Gregory, Leanne Unicomb, Geoffrey Millard, Russell Stafford, Karin Lalor; OzFoodNet Working Group
Affiliations

Estimating foodborne gastroenteritis, Australia

Gillian Hall et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005 Aug.

Abstract

We estimated for Australia the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to foodborne gastroenteritis in a typical year, circa 2000. The total amount of infectious gastroenteritis was measured by using a national telephone survey. The foodborne proportion was estimated from Australian data on each of 16 pathogens. To account for uncertainty, we used simulation techniques to calculate 95% credibility intervals (CrI). The estimate of incidence of gastroenteritis in Australia is 17.2 million (95% confidence interval 14.5-19.9 million) cases per year. We estimate that 32% (95% CrI 24%-40%) are foodborne, which equals 0.3 (95% CrI 0.2-0.4) episodes per person, or 5.4 million (95% CrI 4.0-6.9 million) cases annually in Australia. Norovirus, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter spp., and Salmonella spp. cause the most illnesses. In addition, foodborne gastroenteritis causes approximately 15,000 (95% CrI 11,000-18,000) hospitalizations and 80 (95% CrI 40-120) deaths annually. This study highlights global public health concerns about foodborne diseases and the need for standardized methods, including assessment of uncertainty, for international comparison.

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Figures

Figure
Figure
Scheme of data sources and calculations used to estimate the number of cases of foodborne gastroenteritis in the community in 1 year in Australia around the year 2000.
Figure A1
Figure A1
Estimate of the number of foodborne cases of Campylobacter infection, with simulation to account for uncertainty.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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