16 January 2008 : INFOSAN Information Note No.7/2007: Guidelines for Investigation and Control of Foodborne Disease Outbreaks

INFOSAN Information Note No. 7/2007: Guidelines for Investigation and Control of Foodborne Disease Outbreaks Annually, acute gastroenteritis with diarrhea diseases is reported as a cause for approximately 1.8 million childhood deaths worldwide, especially in developing countries.Foods are significant vehicle in the diseases transmission. To control the outbreak, an investigation of foodborne disease outbreak is considered important.At the same time, the investigation is also significant for detection and removing of concerned foods in order to prevent the occurrence in the future.However, it is found that many outbreaks of foodborne diseases are unrecognized, unreported or are improperly investigated. World Health Organization (WHO), therefore, has prepared simple guidelines which provide practical investigation and control of the outbreak.Importantly, these guidelines also provide generic guidance which can be appropriately adapted by individual countries. The guidelines contain 6 sections as follows:

Section 1: A practical guide

Section 2: Planning and preparation Section 3: Surveillance to detect
foodborne disease outbreaks Section 4 Investigation of foodborne disease
outbreaks Section 5: Control measures Section 6: Features of important foodborne diseases Annexes: - Background technical information, - Sample forms for data collection
and analysis - Questionnaires and other tools that
may be useful during an investigation Full details can be viewed at http://www.who.int/foodsafety/fs_management/No_07_FBDmanual_Dec07_en.pdf Source: INFOSAN Information Note No.7/2007