Foodborne disease surveillance needs in Australia: Harmonisation of molecular laboratory testing and sharing data from human, animal, and food sources

Abstract

Foodborne diseases cause significant morbidity and mortality in Australia and throughout the world. Outbreaks of foodborne disease often require investigators to collaborate across jurisdictional boundaries—even at times internationally. Notified cases of foodborne disease are only a small proportion of the total burden of foodborne disease affecting the community. Many pathogens that contaminate food are zoonotic in origin (that is, are transmitted to humans from lower vertebrates), although the pathway from animal to human via foods is complex and difficult to understand. This article describes how our ability to understand and control foodborne diseases in Australia can be enhanced through improving our surveillance datasets by harmonising methods for advanced microbiological testing of foodborne organisms, and sharing data obtained from human, food, and animal sources.