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Last reviewed/updated
7 January 2008
Initiative to estimate the Global Burden of Foodborne Diseases
Foodborne Diseases – a Growing Risk
Foodborne diseases encompass a wide spectrum of illnesses and are a growing public health problem worldwide. They are the result of ingesting contaminated foodstuffs, and range from diseases caused by a multitude of microorganisms to those caused by chemical hazards. Recent global developments are increasingly challenging international health security. These developments include the growing industrialization and trade of food production, the rapid urbanization associated with a more frequent food preparation/consumption outside the home and the emergence of new or antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
The most common clinical presentation of foodborne diseases takes the form of gastrointestinal symptoms but such diseases can also lead to chronic, life-threatening symptoms including neurological, gynecological or immunological disorders as well as multiorgan failure, cancer and death.
The global burden of foodborne diseases and its impact on development and trade is currently unknown. Reliable epidemiological data are, however, urgently needed to enable policy-makers as well as other stakeholders to:
- appropriately allocate resources to foodborne disease, prevention and control efforts;
- monitor and evaluate food safety measures;
- develop new food safety standards;
- assess the cost-effectiveness of interventions; and
- quantify the burden in monetary costs.
As a response to the current data gap, the WHO Department of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Foodborne Diseases (FOS) launched a new Initiative to Estimate the Global Burden of Foodborne Disease in collaboration with multiple partners.
Initiative to estimate the Global Burden of Foodborne Diseases:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
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