Australia
28 April 2010
In Australia, an estimated 5.4 million cases of foodborne disease occur annually, costing an estimated $1.2 billion dollars per year. Surveillance of foodborne disease is used to monitor trends in illness, detect outbreaks, inform preventative measures and evaluate the efficacy of public health measures. OzFoodNet is Australia’s enhanced foodborne disease surveillance system. It was established in 2000 by the Australian Government to improve national surveillance and conduct applied research into the causes of foodborne illness.
Outbreaks reported in 2008
During 2008, OzFoodNet sites reported 1,545 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness; the majority of these were spread person-to-person but include those transmitted by contaminated food. In total, these outbreaks affected 25,555 people, resulting in 691 people being admitted to hospital, and 99 deaths.
Foodborne outbreaks in 2008
Food was suspected or confirmed as the mode of transmission for 104 of these outbreaks, which affected 1,454 people, resulting in 96 hospitalisations and 11 deaths. Salmonella continues to be the leading cause of reported outbreaks of foodborne illness and, in 2008, 34% (35/104) of outbreaks were attributed to the pathogen, of which 89% were S. Typhimurium (31/35). The most common settings where food was prepared in the outbreaks were restaurants (43%, 45/104), commercial caterers (12%, 12/104) or in private residences (12%. 12/104). A wide variety of food vehicles were implicated in outbreaks of foodborne disease in 2008. Eggs and egg-containing dishes were identified as the most common outbreak food vehicle in 2008 and were responsible for 19% (20/104) of all foodborne outbreaks. The dishes responsible included desserts containing raw egg (such as mousse and tiramisu), egg-based sauces or dressing (such as aioli or hollandaise sauce) or consuming under/lightly cooked eggs or dishes that contained egg. Egg related outbreaks affected a total of 289 people and hospitalised 36 people. Mixed dishes, which include buffets where a variety of dishes were served, was the second most common food vehicle identified in foodborne outbreaks (15% 16/104). In 2008, the only implicated foods that were contaminated in primary produce environments were fish involved in ciguatera fish poisoning outbreaks.