Knowledge and practice of foodborne disease clinical specimen testing and reporting in North Carolina, 2004.
BACKGROUND
Detection of foodborne disease outbreaks relies on health care practitioners (HCPs), infection control practitioners (ICPs), and clinical laboratorians to report notifiable diseases to state or local health departments.


METHODS
To examine knowledge and practices about notifiable foodborne disease reporting among HCPs and ICPs in western North Carolina and among clinical laboratorians statewide, participants responded to a self-administered questionnaire about foodborne pathogen testing and reporting, referencing Campylobacter, shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli, and other organisms.


RESULTS
Three hundred seventy-two of 1442 health care providers participated in this survey. Of 372 study participants, fewer than 20% knew that both the clinician and the laboratorian were legally responsible for reporting the study pathogens. Most laboratorians identified the ICP (57%) as responsible for reporting. There was a lack of understanding about which infections and test results were reportable.


CONCLUSIONS
The response rate was very low, particularly among HCPs; participants may have been biased towards those with a particular interest in foodborne disease or surveillance. This descriptive study cannot be used to determine rates of reporting among the medical community.


CONCLUSIONS
Although not legally obliged to report, ICPs were found to play a significant role in disease reporting. Dissemination of surveillance information and training through the established network of North Carolina ICPs may be ideal for improving foodborne disease surveillance in this state.
MacDonald
Pia D M
PD
Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-8165, USA. pia@email.unc.edu
Torok
Michelle R
MR
Maillard
Jean-Marie
JM
Salyers
Martha
M
Wolf
Leslie A
LA
Nelson
Amy L
AL
D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D003141:Communicable Diseases; D003625:Data Collection; D018563:Disease Notification; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016357:Infection Control Practitioners; D009657:North Carolina; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012307:Risk Factors