title: Development and Application of an Alert System to Detect Cases of Food Poisoning in Japan.
abstract: Recent public health concerns regarding commercial food products have increased the need to develop an automated method to detect food product-related health events. We developed and verified a method for the early detection of potentially harmful events caused by commercial food products. We collected data from daily internet-based questionnaires examining the presence or absence of symptoms and information about food purchased by the respondents. Using these data, we developed a method to detect possible health concerns regarding commercialized food products. To achieve this, we combined the signal detection method used in the reporting system of adverse effects of pharmaceutical products and the Early Aberration Reporting System (EARS) used by the United States Centers for Disease Control. Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), which had odds ratio and Odds(-) of 8.99 and 4.13, respectively, was identified as a possible causative food product for diarrhea and vomiting. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that food distributors can implement post-marketing monitoring of the safety of food products purchased via the internet.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Health Management and Policy, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Akie
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6091-3413
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maeyashiki
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Health Management and Policy, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akahane
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Health Management and Policy, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugiura
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Infectious Disease Surveillance Center, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohkusa
authors.affiliation: Kawasaki City Public Health Institute for Public Health, Kawasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuhiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okabe
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Health Management and Policy, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Imamura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000191:economics; D059022:Food Safety; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011358:Product Surveillance, Postmarketing / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult