[Foodborne diseases occurred in 2003--report of the National Foodborne Diseases Surveillance System, China].
OBJECTIVE
To study the foodborne disease outbreaks in the areas covered by National Foodborne Disease Surveillance System.


METHODS
Total 13 provinces were included in the surveillance system, and the foodborne disease data in 2003 was collected.


RESULTS
A total of 802 outbreaks of foodborne disease were reported. These outbreaks caused a reported 17462 persons to become ill. Among outbreaks for which the etiology was determined, bacterial pathogens caused the largest percentage of outbreaks (46.4%) and the largest percentage of cases (60.4%). Vibrio parahaemolyticus (40.1%) accounted for the largest number of outbreaks and cases. Chemical agents caused 24.1% of outbreaks and 13.9% of cases.


CONCLUSIONS
More work needs to be done to improve the foodborne disease surveillance system.
Liu
Xiu-mei
XM
National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China.
Chen
Yan
Y
Fan
Yong-xiang
YX
Wang
Mao-qi
MQ
D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence