Food-borne Diseases in Humans and Outbreak Investigation Flashcards
Why is it difficult to set up risk based management of food-borne disease?
Extent of total disease burden is unknown as outbreaks are often unrecognised, unreported and for a large percentage of cases the aetiology is unknown
What are the two groups of food-borne illness in the USA?
Known food-borne pathogens Unspecified agents (agents with too little data/known agents not yet known to cause food-borne illness/ability to cause illness unproven/not yet identified)
What is an outbreak?
Cases clustered in time and space occurring at higher level than expected
What is an epidemic?
Occurrence of more cases of disease than expected in a given area or among a specific group of people over a particular period of time
What are the steps during a food-borne outbreak investigation?
Preliminary assessment of the situation Communication Descriptive epidemiology Food and environmental investigations Analysis and interpretation Control measures Further studies
What are the objectives in controlling an outbreak?
Reduce to the minimum the number of primary cases
Reduce to the minimum then number of secondary cases
Prevent further episodes by identifying continuing hazards and eliminating/minimising the risk
What is an epidemic curve used for?
Show the time course of an outbreak
What factors are included in an epidemic curve?
Time of onset of each case
Set time interval of third or less of incubation period
Time period before and after (at least 2 incubations)
What diagnostics are performed in a food-borne disease outbreak?
ICT should include clinical and/or food microbiologist to advise on samples needed
Involve APHA for sampling of animals
Required improved understanding of epidemiology
Who is involved in food-borne outbreak investigations in the UK?
Food Standards Agency, Local Authorities, APHA, Public Health England, Department of Health, Primary Care Trusts
