World Health Organization Estimates of the Global and Regional Disease Burden of 11 Foodborne Parasitic Diseases, 2010: A Data Synthesis

We would like to acknowledge the assistance of the WHO Secretariat over the life of the FERG initiative, particularly Amy Cawthorne, Tim Corrigan, Tanja Kuchenmüller, Yuki Minato, Kurt Straif and Claudia Stein. We acknowledge the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (Seattle, WA, USA) for providing data on the global burden of selected diseases.In this data synthesis, Paul Robert Torgerson and colleagues estimate the global and regional disease burden of 11 foodborne parasitic diseases.Yeshttp://www.plosmedicine.org/static/editorial#pee

The global burden of foodborne parasitic diseases: an update

Foodborne diseases (FBDs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the human population. Accurate information on the burden of FBDs is needed to inform policy makers and allocate appropriate resources for food safety control and intervention. Consequently, in 2006 the WHO launched an initiative to estimate the global burden of FBDs in terms of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). This review gives an update of the progress on evaluating the burden of foodborne parasitic diseases that has been generated by this study. Results to date indicate that parasitic diseases that can be transmitted through food make a substantial contribution to the global burden of disease

Estimating the burden of acute gastroenteritis, foodborne disease, and pathogens commonly transmitted by food: an international review

The burden of foodborne disease is not well defined in many countries or regions or on a global level. The World Health Organization (WHO), in conjunction with other national public health agencies, is coordinating a number of international activities designed to assist countries in the strengthening of disease surveillance and to determine the burden of acute gastroenteritis. These data can then be used to estimate the following situations: (1) the burden associated with acute gastroenteritis of foodborne origin, (2) the burden caused by specific pathogens commonly transmitted by food, and (3) the burden caused by specific foods or food groups. Many of the scientists collaborating with the WHO on these activities have been involved in quantifying the burden of acute gastroenteritis on a national basis. This article reviews these key national studies and the international efforts that are providing the necessary information and technical resources to derive national, regional, and global burden of disease estimates

World Health Organization global estimates and regional comparisons of the burden of foodborne disease in 2010

Illness and death from diseases caused by contaminated food are a constant threat to public health and a significant impediment to socio-economic development worldwide. To measure he global and regional burden of foodborne disease (FBD), the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG), which here reports their first estimates of the incidence, mortality, and disease burden due to 31 foodborne hazards. We find that the global burden of FBD is comparable to those of the major infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The most frequent causes of foodborne illness were diarrheal disease agents, particularly norovirus and Campylobacter spp. Diarrheal disease agents, especially non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica, were also responsible for the majority of deaths due to FBD. Other major causes of FBD deaths were Salmonella Typhi, Taenia solium and hepatitis A virus. The global burden of FBD caused by the 31 hazards in 2010 was 33 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs); children under five years old bore 40% of this burden. The 14 subregions, defined on the basis of child and adult mortality, had considerably different burdens of FBD, with the greatest falling on the subregions in Africa, followed by the subregions in South-East Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean D subregion. Some hazards, such as non typhoidal S. enterica, were important causes of FBD in all regions of the world, whereas others, such as certain parasitic helminths, were highly localised. Thus, the burden of FBD is borne particularly by children under five years old–although they represent only 9% of the global population–and people living in low-income regions of the world. These estimates are conservative, i.e., underestimates rather than overestimates; further studies are needed to address the data gaps and limitations of the study. Nevertheless, all stakeholders can contribute to improvements in food safety throughout the food chain by incorporating these estimates into policy development at national and international levels

Median rates of foodborne Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per 100,000 population, by subregion, with 95% uncertainty intervals, 2010.

<p>Median rates of foodborne Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per 100,000 population, by subregion, with 95% uncertainty intervals, 2010.</p

Relative contribution of years of life lost (YLL) due to premature mortality and years lived with disability (YLD) to the global burden of 31 hazards in food for 2010.

<p>For abbreviations, see <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001923#pmed.1001923.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1</a>.</p

World Health Organization (WHO) Member States by subregion.

<p>World Health Organization (WHO) Member States by subregion.</p

Hazards and outcomes included in estimates of the global burden of foodborne disease.

<p>Hazards and outcomes included in estimates of the global burden of foodborne disease.</p