| The core of FoodNet is laboratory-based active surveillance
at over 650 clinical laboratories that test stool samples
in the ten FoodNet sites. In active surveillance, the
laboratories in the catchment areas are contacted regularly
by collaborating FoodNet investigators to collect information
on all of the laboratory-confirmed cases of diarrheal
illness.
Information is being collected on every laboratory-diagnosed
case of bacterial pathogens including Salmonella,
Shigella,
Campylobacter,
Escherichia
coli O157,
Listeria
monocytogenes, Yersinia
enterocolitica,
and Vibrio
and parasitic organisms including Cryptosporidium
and Cyclospora
infection among residents of the catchment areas of
the FoodNet sites; this information is transmitted
electronically to CDC.
In addition to collecting laboratory-diagnosed cases
of foodborne pathogens, investigators at FoodNet sites
began active surveillance for hemolytic uremic syndrome
(HUS) (a serious complication of E. coli O157
infection). The result is a comprehensive and timely
database of foodborne illness in a well-defined population.
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