Estimating the burden of foodborne diseases: A practical handbook for countries

Overview

This handbook provides detailed guidance on assessing the burden of diseases caused by microbiological agents commonly transmitted through foods. It is particularly intended for use at national level, and gives a complete picture of the requirements, enabling factors, challenges and opportunities involved, and the steps in the process. It also aims to foster harmonization of methodologies for estimating foodborne disease burden across countries.

The goal of a national burden of foodborne disease study is to rank and prioritize foodborne diseases based on their overall public health impact in the population. The objectives of such a study are to: 

• estimate the burden of disease for selected foodborne hazards;
• develop a framework for routine updating of estimates and evaluation of trends; and
• provide a baseline against which food safety interventions can be evaluated.