Monitoring the incidence and causes of disease potentially transmitted by food in Australia: Annual report of the OzFoodNet network, 2018.

Abstract

Abstract: In 2018, state and territory health departments in Australia received 51,174 notifications of enteric diseases potentially related to food. This was 28% higher than the five-year average number of notifications for enteric diseases in Australia. Consistent with previous years, most notified infections were either campylobacteriosis (n = 33,143; 65%) or salmonellosis (n = 14,144; 28%). In total, 137 gastrointestinal outbreaks, including 127 foodborne outbreaks, were reported in 2018. The remaining ten outbreaks were due to environmental or probable environmental transmission (nine outbreaks) and waterborne or probable waterborne transmission (one outbreak). Foodborne outbreaks affected 1,644 people, resulting in at least 283 hospital admissions and thirteen deaths. Eggs continue to be a source of Salmonella Typhimurium infection across the country, with 26 egg-related outbreaks, affecting at least 535 people, reported across five jurisdictions in 2018.