Sludge Watch ==> Under - reporting of campylobacter and toxic E.coli

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Campylobacter and verotoxigenic Escherichia coli

25.aug.06
Infectious Diseases News Brief
Public Health Agency of Canada

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/bid-bmi/dsd-dsm/nb-ab/2006/nb3406_e.html

This study estimated the annual number of cases of illness due to VTEC, 
Salmonella and Campylobacter in the Canadian population, using data from the 
National Notifiable Disease registry (NND), estimates of under-reporting 
derived from several National Studies on Acute Gastrointestinal Illness, and 
the literature. In cases where the pathogen-specific estimates were 
unavailable, data on acute gastrointestinal illness were used, accounting 
for differences between those with bloody and nonbloody diarrhea. For every 
case of VTEC, Salmonella and Campylobacter infection reported in the NND, 
there were an estimated 10 to 47, 13 to 37, and 23 to 49 cases annually in 
the Canadian population, respectively. The authors estimate that a 
significant number of infections due to VTEC, Salmonella and Campylobacter 
occur each year in Canada, highlighting the fact that these enteric 
pathogens are likely underreported and still pose a significant health 
burden. Recognizing the significant amount of under-reporting is essential 
to designing appropriate interventions and assessing the impact of these 
pathogens in the population.

Source: The Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical 
Microbiology, Volume 17, No. 4, July/August 2006