New research from the Australian National University has found while overall cases of foodborne illness has declined slightly, cases involving Salmonella and Campylobacter have increased.
As part of the study, Associate Professor Martyn Kirk from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health tracked changes in foodborne illness in Australia between 2000 and 2010.
Over the period, the number of foodborne illnesses fell by 17 percent, however the number of recorded Salmonella cases increased by 24 percent, and Campylobacter 13 percent – both of which were the two leading causes of hospitalisation.
“On average, each Australian has an episode of foodborne gastroenteritis once every five years,” said Kirk.
“Australian authorities have worked hard in the last decade to ensure a safe food supply, so it is disappointing not to see a decline in Salmonella and Campylobacter infections,” he said.
Kirk said that around one quarter of the 16 million cases of gastroenteritis experienced each year are caused by food contamination.
The Salmonella bacteria can be carried in undercooked chicken or eggs, while Campylobacter is commonly found in raw or undercooked poultry meat and raw milk. Interestingly, Kirk says that Salmonella and Campylobacter cases only accounted for five per cent of foodborne illness and that the microbiological cause of 80 percent of foodborne illnesses remained unknown.
“People often don’t find out the cause of their illness, either because they don’t visit a doctor, or they don’t have a test,” said Kirk.
The researchers also found an 85 per cent decline in cases of the Hepatitis A virus infection as a result of vaccination campaigns.
In March this year, The Victorian health department advised consumers to avoid eggs from the Victorian Green Eggs company which were thought to have been linked to a salmonella outbreak which saw more than 200 people affected after dining at restaurants in Torquay and St Kilda.
A month after the warning the issued, deputy chief health officer, Dr Michael Ackland lifted the warning and the company has since introduced an additional washing step to its egg production.
The research was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health, Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the New South Wales Food Authority and has been published in the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.