Annual Report of information on potentially foodborne diseases in New Zealand, 2013.

Annual Report of information on potentially foodborne diseases in New Zealand 2014

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) leads New Zealand's food safety system, protecting the health and wellbeing of consumers here and overseas. This includes reducing food-related risks to human health. Human health surveillance is an essential element of the monitoring and review component of MPI’s risk management framework. This report for 2017 forms part of a series providing a consistent source of data annually to monitor trends on foodborne illness in New Zealand.

foodborne disease, campylobacter, surveillance

This study evaluated notified case, hospital discharge, and New Zealand isolate typing data as well as evidence from findings of STEC on animals and in the environment in New Zealand. Comparative analysis of the potential source genomes available confirmed that ruminants are a reservoir for clinically relevant STEC in New Zealand. The only food with a proven link to STEC infection cases in New Zealand is raw milk, which was established during an outbreak investigation in 2016.

In this study, Campylobacter notifications from 2001 to 2008 across three regions of New Zealand were analysed, and spatial and temporal trends were identified. Risk factors associated with these trends were investigated, and several relationships were observed.

There is variability in the methods used by clinical laboratories in New Zealand to isolate and
identify the pathogens (Campylobacter spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp.,
Yersinia enterocolitica or Y. pseudotuberculosis, and verocytotoxigenic E. coli
(VTEC)/shigatoxin-producing E. coli (STEC)) being investigated in this study, but the
methods do not appear to have changed significantly over the last five years.

NZFSA has an aim to reduce food-related risks to human health. As part of the Science Strategy, human health surveillance has been identified as an essential element of the monitoring and review component of the risk management framework. Evidence from outbreak investigations and epidemiological studies of human enteric diseases are being used increasingly as sources of data for risk assessments.

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) is seeking to improve the extent
and quality of epidemiological information that is gained from foodborne disease
investigations and ensure that such information is used to maximum effect in
developing foodborne disease statistics and servicing risk assessment. As part of that
process this project was initiated with the following goal:
“Evaluate current foodborne disease surveillance in New Zealand as a contribution
towards future improvements in communicable disease surveillance”

In the five year period (2002 to 2006) reviewed, the annual notification rate for yersiniosis in New Zealand increased over the four years 2003 to 2006 but remained lower than it was in 2002. A number of District Health Boards (DHBs) (West Coast, South Canterbury, Capital and Coast) had consistently higher notification rates than the overall New Zealand notification rate. Children aged less than 5 years experienced the highest rates of yersiniosis and there was a small increase in the notification rate for the 60 years and over age group.

In the five year period (2002 to 2006) reviewed, the annual notification rate for yersiniosis in New Zealand increased over the four years 2003 to 2006 but remained lower than it was in 2002. A number of District Health Boards (DHBs) (West Coast, South Canterbury, Capital and Coast) had consistently higher notification rates than the overall New Zealand notification rate. Children aged less than 5 years experienced the highest rates of yersiniosis and there was a small increase in the notification rate for the 60 years and over age group.

This report provides an overview of campylobacteriosis in New Zealand and describes some of the work undertaken to inform decision making.