[ZD21] Incidence of foodborne diseases
Key message
Approximately 2.5 million people die each year from gastrointestinal communicable diseases (GCD).
GCD, or infectious diarrhea, is the biggest problem in less developed countries, but even in developed countries, one episode of GCD occurs per inhabitant per year (Infectious Diseases, Tomažič, J., Strle, F.).
Similar to other countries, the incidence of GCD in Slovenia is estimated on the basis of received reports of gastrointestinal communicable diseases.
In 2021, compared to 2020, the incidence of GCD or foodborne infections increased by 12%. GCD of unnown pathogen, which represent the largest share of reports in Slovenia every year, are no longer recorded since 2018. In the first place are viral infections of the intestines, which are among the main causes of morbidity in childen arounf the world (Infectious diseases, Tomažič J, Strle F)
Campylobacteriosis, Clostridioides difficile, Salmonellosis and the pathogen E.coli predominate among bacterial pathogens.
The actual burden of GCD and foodborne diseases can only be estimated through research.
Definition
This indicator shows the number of reported (i.e. the incidence of) intestinal infectious diseases (IID) and foodborne diseases in Slovenia and some EU countries in the selected period.
Intestinal infectious diseases are diseases caused by various agents: viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. They are transmitted faecally-orally (from faeces to mouth); usually through ingested food, water or unclean hands. Pursuant to the International Classification of Diseases ICD-10, they are classified among diagnoses A00 through A09, B15 and B17.2.
Incidence means the number of all newly determined cases of a certain illness in a defined population within a calendar year and is therefore a basic indicator of a phenomenon's dynamics (growth, decline, stagnation). Although incidence can be expressed in absolute numbers, it is usually expressed as a rate, calculated in relation to a certain population.
A person suffering from an intestinal infectious disease or a foodborne disease has digestion problems due to an infected gastro-intestinal tract, which is manifested by nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, elevated body temperature and diarrhoea. Intestinal infectious diseases represent a particular hazard to the elderly, people with chronic diseases, infants, children and pregnant women.
Charts
Druge opredeljene ČNB (A04.8, A05.8, A08.3, A08.5) (št. prijav/100.000 preb.)
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| All notified gastrointestinal communicable diseases (GCD) | 997,5 | 1087,6 | 972,5 | 964,8 | 1008,9 | 1280,9 | 1563 | 1567,6 | 506,7 | 374,9 |
| GCD , unknown pathogen | 696,1 | 760,6 | 709,4 | 678,0 | 711,3 | 933,4 | 993,6 | 1014,6 | 0 | 0 |
| Salmonellosis | 17 | 19,5 | 19,5 | 14,2 | 32,4 | 18,6 | 13,9 | 12,7 | 12,3 | 20,4 |
| Rotavirosis | 78 | 107,5 | 68,1 | 70,7 | 96,2 | 89,5 | 59,8 | 66,5 | 30,5 | 64,3 |
| Campylobacteriosis | 48,9 | 48,0 | 45,4 | 48,4 | 54,3 | 60,5 | 76,1 | 66 | 59,9 | 60,8 |
| Other GCD with known pathogen | 17,5 | 10,9 | 4,3 | 7,0 | 5,6 | 8,8 | 7,9 | 10 | 6,4 | 6,9 |
National Institute of Public Health, 2020 (2. 11. 2020)
| No. of aplications | No of cases/100.000 residents | |
| hepatitis E virus | 1 | 0,05 |
| hepatitis A virus | 4 | 0,2 |
| shigellas | 6 | 0,3 |
| Y. enterocolitica | 9 | 0,4 |
| listeriosis | 18 | 0,9 |
| parasites | 24 | 1,1 |
| other GCD with known pathogen | 30 | 1,4 |
| adenoviruses | 126 | 6 |
| E.coli | 134 | 6,4 |
| Salmonella spp; typhus and paratyphus | 170 | 8,1 |
| noroviruses | 359 | 17,2 |
| Cl difficile | 473 | 22,6 |
| campylobacters | 514 | 24,6 |
| rotaviruses | 808 | 38,7 |
| All reported GCD | 2708 | 129,6 |
ECDC, Surveillance Atlas of Infectious Diseases, 2019 (2. 11. 2020)
| State | Unit | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Portugal | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 3,10 | 3,64 | 4,48 | 2,93 | 4,20 |
| Greece | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 4,30 | 6,82 | 6,24 | 5,96 | 6,00 |
| Romania | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 6,70 | 7,48 | 5,87 | 7,22 | 7,12 |
| Ireland | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 5,80 | 6,33 | 7,92 | 7,29 | 7,08 |
| Cyprus | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 7,70 | 9,08 | 6,90 | 5,09 | 7,08 |
| Bulgaria | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 14,90 | 10,04 | 11,21 | 8,31 | 8,49 |
| UK | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 14,60 | 15,14 | 15,36 | 14,28 | 14,58 |
| France | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 32,30 | 27,7 | 24,86 | 27,82 | 27,78 |
| Estonia | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 8,50 | 26,67 | 20,14 | 23,80 | 11,32 |
| Slovenia | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 19,40 | 15,07 | 13,31 | 13,26 | 17,40 |
| Austria | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 18,00 | 16,28 | 19,00 | 17,43 | 21,06 |
| Latvia | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 19,10 | 23,06 | 11,54 | 21,14 | 22,81 |
| Poland | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 21,70 | 25,6 | 23,50 | 23,87 | 22,05 |
| Malta | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 29,30 | 36,37 | 23,25 | 24,39 | 26,54 |
| Denmark | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 16,30 | 18,94 | 18,56 | 20,20 | 19,27 |
| Luxembourg | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 18,80 | 18,74 | 19,98 | 22,43 | 21,34 |
| Germany | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 16,80 | 15,65 | 17,03 | 16,06 | 16,26 |
| Sweden | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 23,70 | 22,81 | 22,81 | 20,17 | 19,45 |
| Finland | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 30,20 | 27,55 | 27,89 | 25,96 | 21,29 |
| Lithuania | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 37,00 | 37,25 | 35,25 | 27,73 | 26,34 |
| Hungary | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 49,70 | 48,03 | 40,03 | 42,55 | 45,56 |
| Slovakia | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 89,30 | 97,65 | 106,51 | 124,76 | 91,59 |
| Czech Republic | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 117,70 | 110,01 | 108,45 | 102,74 | 122,15 |
| Belgium | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 0,00 | 23,85 | 20,24 | 25,95 | 22,06 |
| Italy | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 6,30 | 6,81 | 5,52 | 6,01 | 5,39 |
| Spain | No. of cases/100.000 inh. | 43,30 | 0 | 0,00 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
Goals
The incidence of foodborne diseases in Slovenia is high and is an important public health issue.
Within a broader framework, guidelines have been set at the European level by the Global Foodborne Infections Network programme (GFN 2013) that includes Slovenia as a member state and that is committed to enhancing the capacity of countries to detect, respond and prevent foodborne and other enteric infections.
The goals of in-depth monitoring of the indicator ‘Incidence of foodborne diseases or intestinal infectious diseases’ are as follows:
- to assess trends as regards the incidence of acute gastroenterocolitis and individual agents of IID or foodborne diseases;
- to estimate the seriousness of an outbreak as regards the number of hospitalisations and deaths due to IID or foodborne diseases;
- to assess risk to human health;
- to make informed decisions as regards public health measures;
- based on the obtained data, inform and educate the general and professional public in order to reduce the incidence of IID or foodborne diseases.
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