title: Assessing multiple foodborne, waterborne and environmental exposures of healthy people to potential enteric pathogen sources: effect of age, gender, season, and recall period.
abstract: Information is lacking in Canada on the frequency of exposures of healthy people to enteric pathogen sources (i.e. water, food, animal contact) at the community level. This information is critical to develop more robust risk assessments and prioritize control measures. A 12-month-long cross-sectional telephone survey of 1200 healthy individuals in a sentinel community was performed. Survey respondents were divided into three recall period groups (3, 7, 14 days). The occurrence of 46 exposures (including water, animal contact, environmental contact and high-risk foods) was assessed per recall period. Effect of age, gender, and season on exposures was modelled and frequencies of exposure were extrapolated. Thirty-five exposures had similar occurrences across recall periods. Age was significant for 23 exposures, season for 18, and gender for three. Exposures that vary by age and season (i.e. bottled water, swimming, etc.) warrant consideration when investigating and analysing cases of enteric illness.
authors.affiliation: C-EnterNet surveillance, Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, Public Health Agency of Canada, Université de Montréal, St Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ravel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nesbitt
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pintar
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pollari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006802:Human Activities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D062486:Public Health Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012621:Seasons; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014871:Water Microbiology