Call for data on foodborne outbreak investigations for source attribution on foodborne pathogens

Background

In 2015, WHO estimated that unsafe food causes 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses and 420 000 deaths annually.¹ Many of these cases are due to foodborne disease outbreaks. For example, in the 2018–2019 biennium globally, the FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN)^2 responded to 162 international food safety events, and the biological hazards were responsible for the largest number of these events.

WHO is currently estimating global foodborne disease incidence, mortality and disease burden in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), with an aim to report the updated estimates by 2025. One of the objectives is to estimate the proportion of the burden of foodborne diseases that is attributable to food transmission and to specific foods. Outbreak data is required as one of the key information sources to analyse pathogens that cause outbreaks, enabling to derive estimates of attribution to specific foods. Outbreak analysis can be conducted at country or regional level and relies on the collection of data from national outbreak surveillance systems.

We are therefore requesting submission of foodborne disease outbreak data for source attribution of foodborne pathogens.

Objectives

Collect national outbreak data derived from public health surveillance in order to determine the relative role of different putative sources in foodborne infections.   

Request for relevant information

WHO would like to ensure that all available and relevant data are collected and is requesting governments and any other interested organizations including national technical agencies, public health institutes and national food authorities to submit any available data from public health surveillance. These data may be published or unpublished. Reference should be made to related published studies, where applicable. WHO Member States can also identify publications (such as government reports) from which the data could be extracted. 

WHO also recognize that countries may be at different levels in the development of their surveillance programs and testing methods for foodborne pathogens and welcome information on the status of current foodborne outbreak surveillance including challenges encountered.

Confidential and/or unpublished data

WHO recognizes that some of the information and relevant data which are now required may be unpublished or of a confidential nature. Regarding unpublished information and data, this remains the property of the author for subsequent publication by the owner as original material. Unpublished confidential studies that are submitted will be safeguarded in so far as it is possible to do so without compromising the work of WHO.

WHO has a data policy that governs how data that flows into, across and out of WHO is collected, processed, shared and used. Whenever possible, WHO wishes to promote the sharing of health data, including but not restricted to surveillance and epidemiological data. The purpose of the policy is to clarify current policy and practice on use and sharing of data collected in Member States by WHO

Learn more through https://www.who.int/about/policies/publishing/data-policy. WHO policy on use and sharing of data collected in Member States by WHO outside the context of public health emergencies can be found here.

Data requirements

The principle of source attribution by analysis of outbreak data is to estimate the relative contribution of different food sources to illness by a pathogen on the basis of the number of outbreaks and outbreak cases that were caused by each food. The approach that will be used to extrapolate the results of outbreak investigations to estimate the sources of illness in the population will be able to include data on outbreaks caused by simple/single-ingredient foods (such as beef), and by complex/multi-ingredient foods (e.g. hamburger sandwich).

To be able to apply the approach at a global and regional level, it is important to gather data from all WHO regions and (if possible) all countries. Harmonization of data fields will facilitate the data compilation process.

Data requirements are as follow:

Data overview: number of outbreaks caused by any foodborne hazard reported in the country, number of investigated outbreaks, number of outbreaks for which the causative source was identified.
For each outbreak reported, information on:

country, region*
date*
year of outbreak
causative hazard*
hazard subtype
number of suspected and confirmed cases*
number of hospitalizations
number of deaths
number of complications (e.g. haemolytic uremic syndrome [HUS])
setting (e.g. home, restaurant, institution [type])*
implicated food*
level of evidence (laboratory, epidemiological or both)*
traceback of contamination point.

Please kindly submit information required as above through the electronic survey: https://extranet.who.int/dataformv3/index.php/129963?lang=en

Contact

WHO Secretariat
Department of Nutrition and Food Safety
[email protected]

*Mandatory information

¹  WHO estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases: foodborne diseases burden epidemiology reference group 2007-2015

²^  FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN)

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