Surveillance for Foodborne Diseases

Foodborne diseases are important public health problems worldwide. Surveillance systems that track the occurrence of foodborne diseases provide information vital to control and prevention, including information that can be used to detect outbreaks of disease. Methods for surveillance include 1) passive collection of reports of cases of selected notifiable diseases, 2) monitoring of laboratory-confirmed cases and pathogen subtyping, 3) intensive surveillance in sentinel sites with defined human populations, 4) analysis of hospital discharge records and death registration, 5) review of foodborne disease complaints systems, and 6) collection of outbreak reports. Choice of surveillance method depends on the intended public health objectives. This chapter describes advantages, disadvantages, and relevance of these surveillance methods for various public health situations and objectives. The role of foodborne disease surveillance systems in detecting outbreaks is emphasized.