Many thanks to our French correspondent who forwarded this abstract on the latest foodborne illness data from France.
To assess the impact of foodborne infections on human health and to set priorities for surveillance, prevention and control strategies, estimates of food-related morbidity and mortality are necessary. The objective of the present study was to produce the annual number of symptomatic cases, hospitalized cases and deceased cases for 21 foodborne pathogen agents (10 bacteria, 3 viruses, 8 parasites) in metropolitan France for the 2008-2013 period.
Our findings reveal that morbidity and mortality attributed to infectious foodborne diseases remain high in France, representing 1.28-2.23 million illnesses, 15,800-21,200 hospitalizations, and 232-358 deaths. Campylobacter spp., non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. and norovirus infections accounted for the majority of all food-related illnesses and hospitalizations in France. Non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes accounted for half of the burden of food-related deaths.
The knowledge of the absolute and relative burden of food-borne infections is useful for all stakeholders (public authorities and operators) involved in the field of food safety.
Estimates of food-related morbidity and mortality in metropolitan France, 2008-2013
Bulletin epidemiologique hebdomadaire
Dieter Van Cauteren, Yann Le Strat, Cecile Sommen, Mathias Bruyand, Mathieu Tourdjman, Nathalie Jourdan-Da Silva, Elisaveth Couturier, Nelly Fournet, Henriette De Valk, Jean-Claude Desenclos