Estimated reduction in human salmonellosis incidence in Canada from a new government requirement to reduce in frozen breaded chicken products.

Nontyphoidal infections are a leading cause of enteric disease in Canada, most commonly associated with foodborne exposures. Raw frozen breaded chicken products (FBCP) have been implicated in 16 outbreaks between 2017 and 2019. This study quantified the impact of the 1 April 2019 requirement by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for manufacturers to reduce in raw FBCP.

Canadian beach cohort study: protocol of a prospective study to assess the burden of recreational water illness.

Background: Recreational water activities at beaches are popular among Canadians. However, these activities can increase the risk of recreational water illnesses (RWI) among beachgoers. Few studies have been conducted in Canada to determine the risk of these illnesses.

Consumption of High-Risk Foods in the Canadian Population, Foodbook Study, 2014 to 2015.

Abstract: Many foods have the potential to cause foodborne illness; however, some pose a higher risk. Data were collected through the Foodbook study, a population-based telephone survey conducted between 2014 and 2015 that assessed 10,942 Canadians' food exposures using a 7-day recall period. The 19 foods included in the survey were identified as high risk for common foodborne pathogens in Canada.

Characteristics of Campylobacter and Salmonella Infections and Acute Gastroenteritis in Older Adults in Australia, Canada, and the United States.

Background: The early detection of enteric infections in older adults is challenging because typical signs and symptoms of disease may be less common, absent, or overlooked. Understanding illness characteristics of enteric infections among older adults could improve the timeliness and accuracy of clinical diagnoses, thereby improving patient outcomes and increasing cases reported to surveillance.

Methods: Here, we describe illness characteristics (percentage reporting bloody diarrhea, fever, vomiting, abdominal pain; percentage hospitalized; duration of hospitalization; and duration of illness) among older adults (≥65 years) with acute gastroenteritis and culture-confirmed Campylobacter and nontyphoidal Salmonella infections in Australia, Canada, and the United States and compare these characteristics with those among younger people (<5 years, 5-24 years, and 25-64 years).

Forecasting the incidence of salmonellosis in seniors in Canada: A trend analysis and the potential impact of the demographic shift.

Salmonella infections remain an important public health issue in Canada and worldwide. Although the majority of Salmonella cases are self-limiting, some will lead to severe symptoms and occasionally severe invasive infections, especially in vulnerable populations such as seniors. This study was performed to assess temporal trends of Salmonella cases in seniors over 15 years (2014-2028) and assess possible impact of demographic shift on national incidence; taking into account of trends in other age groups.

Measuring animal exposure in Canada: Foodbook study, 2014-2015.

Animal companionship can have many physical and psychological benefits; however, animals can also be a source of zoonotic infection, including enteric illnesses; it has been estimated that in Canada, nearly 85,000 enteric illnesses due to eight pathogens occur each year related to animal contact. There is a lack of baseline data on animal-related exposures in Canada and around the world. This information is critical to inform quantitative and qualitative risk assessments to prioritize intervention efforts in public health and reduce the associated burden of enteric illness.

Drinking and recreational water exposures among Canadians: Foodbook Study 2014-2015.

In Canada, over 400,000 enteric diseases related to drinking water occur each year, highlighting the importance of understanding sources of Canadians' drinking and recreational water exposures. To address this need, a population-based telephone survey of 10,942 Canadians was conducted between 2014 and 2015, assessing Canadian's drinking water sources and recreational water exposures using a seven-day recall method. Results were analyzed by province/territory, season, age group, gender, income, education, and urban/rural status.

The Incidence of Acute Gastrointestinal Illness in Canada, Foodbook Survey 2014-2015.

Acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) is an important public health issue, with many pathogen sources and modes of transmission. A one-year telephone survey was conducted in Canada (2014-2015) to estimate the incidence of self-reported AGI in the previous 28 days and to describe health care seeking behaviour, using a symptom-based case definition. Excluding cases with respiratory symptoms, it is estimated that there are 0.

Canadian Consumer Food Safety Practices and Knowledge: Foodbook Study.

Understanding consumers' food safety practices and knowledge supports food safety education for the prevention of foodborne illness. The objective of this study was to describe Canadian consumer food safety practices and knowledge. This study identifies demographic groups for targeted food safety education messaging and establishes a baseline measurement to assess the effectiveness of food safety interventions over time.

Evidence for the benefits of food chain interventions on E. coli O157:H7/NM prevalence in retail ground beef and human disease incidence: A success story.

Objectives: Human infection with Escherichia coli O157:H7/NM has historically been associated with consumption of undercooked ground beef. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the correlation of the decline in E. coli O157:H7/NM infections in Canada with the introduction of control efforts in ground beef by industry.

Non food-related risk factors of campylobacteriosis in Canada: a matched case-control study.

Background: Campylobacteriosis is a prominent bacterial gastrointestinal infection worldwide with several transmission pathways. Its non-foodborne routes have been less documented and quantified. The study aimed to quantitatively explore the role of potential risk factors not directly associated with food for sporadic cases of C.

A Comparative Exposure Assessment of Campylobacter in Ontario, Canada.

To inform source attribution efforts, a comparative exposure assessment was developed to estimate the relative exposure to Campylobacter, the leading bacterial gastrointestinal disease in Canada, for 13 different transmission routes within Ontario, Canada, during the summer. Exposure was quantified with stochastic models at the population level, which incorporated measures of frequency, quantity ingested, prevalence, and concentration, using data from FoodNet Canada surveillance, the peer-reviewed and gray literature, other Ontario data, and data that were specifically collected for this study. Models were run with @Risk software using Monte Carlo simulations.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Campylobacter spp. Prevalence and Concentration in Household Pets and Petting Zoo Animals for Use in Exposure Assessments.

Animal contact is a potential transmission route for campylobacteriosis, and both domestic household pet and petting zoo exposures have been identified as potential sources of exposure. Research has typically focussed on the prevalence, concentration, and transmission of zoonoses from farm animals to humans, yet there are gaps in our understanding of these factors among animals in contact with the public who don't live on or visit farms. This study aims to quantify, through a systematic review and meta-analysis, the prevalence and concentration of Campylobacter carriage in household pets and petting zoo animals.

Estimates of foodborne illness-related hospitalizations and deaths in Canada for 30 specified pathogens and unspecified agents.

Foodborne illness estimates help to set food safety priorities and create public health policies. The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that 4 million episodes of foodborne illness occur each year in Canada due to 30 known pathogens and unspecified agents. The main objective of this study was to estimate the number of domestically acquired foodborne illness-related hospitalizations and deaths.

Using environmental health officers' opinions to inform the source attribution of enteric disease: further analysis of the "most likely source of infection".

Background: Policies and programs are needed to mitigate the burden of enteric disease in Canada. Source attribution, a goal of FoodNet Canada, can inform such strategies and can be accomplished with the information provided by expert opinion. This includes environmental health officers' (EHOs) opinions on the "most likely source of infection" (MLSI) of confirmed cases of enteric disease that are investigated by the Fraser Health Authority in British Columbia, FoodNet Canada's second sentinel site.

Estimates of the burden of foodborne illness in Canada for 30 specified pathogens and unspecified agents, circa 2006.

Estimates of foodborne illness are important for setting food safety priorities and making public health policies. The objective of this analysis is to estimate domestically acquired, foodborne illness in Canada, while identifying data gaps and areas for further research. Estimates of illness due to 30 pathogens and unspecified agents were based on data from the 2000-2010 time period from Canadian surveillance systems, relevant international literature, and the Canadian census population for 2006.

Description and burden of travel-related cases caused by enteropathogens reported in a Canadian community.

Background: Risk of infections by enteropathogens among individuals traveling outside their country of residence is considered important. Such travel-related cases (TRC) have been poorly estimated and described in Canada.

Methods: Data from an enhanced, passive surveillance system of diseases caused by enteropathogens within a Canadian community from June 2005 to May 2009 were used to describe TRC in terms of disease (pathogen, symptoms, hospitalization, duration, and timing of sickness relative to return); demographics (age and gender); and travel (destination, length, and accommodation); and to compare them with non-TRC.

High-risk food consumption and food safety practices in a Canadian community.

Understanding consumers' high-risk food consumption patterns and food handling in the home is critical in reducing foodborne illness. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of unsafe food practices of individuals in a Canadian-based population, specifically, high-risk food consumption and home food safety practices. During November 2005 to March 2006, a sample of 2,332 randomly selected residents of the Waterloo Region (Ontario, Canada) participated in a telephone survey of food consumption and food safety.

Food consumption patterns in the Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada: a cross-sectional telephone survey.

Background: The demographics and lifestyles of Canadians are changing, thereby influencing food choices and food preparation in the home. Although different dietary practices are associated with increased risk of foodborne illness, our ability to evaluate food consumption trends and assess risks associated with foodborne illness is limited by lack of data on current eating habits and consumer food safety practices. The objective of this study was to describe, for the first time, the food consumption patterns in a Canadian-based population from a food safety perspective, in order to establish baseline data on actual food intake of individuals.