Enteric diseases

Highlights included:

• 16,885 notifications of enteric conditions, including 727 hospitalisations and 6 deaths
• campylobacteriosis became a notifiable condition in NSW on 7 April 2017 and the number of campylobacteriosis notifications exceeded all other enteric infections for the year
• a 3% decrease in the number of salmonellosis notifications
• a 52% increase in Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) and 75% decrease in haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) notifications
• a 34% increase in cryptosporidiosis notifications, although a similar number to 2014 and 2016
• the increase in notifications of enteric diseases was partially driven by the use of a more sensitive test
• 38 foodborne or potentially foodborne disease outbreaks were reported affecting at least 437 people; a 46% decrease in the number of reported foodborne or probable foodborne disease outbreaks compared to 2016 (n=70)
• 921 viral or probable viral gastroenteritis outbreaks in institutions were reported, affecting at least 14,183 people; a 45% increase in the number of reported gastroenteritis outbreaks in institutions compared to 2016 (n=788).

For more details, see OzFoodNet Quarterly and Annual Reports.