The role of EPHPs in collaborative foodborne illness outbreak investigations

Speaker: Ken Diplock, PhD, School of Health & Life Sciences, Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
Outbreaks of infectious foodborne diseases continue to affect populations across Canada, with potentially severe impacts on susceptible groups such as children, older adults, immune compromised individuals, and pregnant women. While some outbreaks can be rapidly attributed to localized sources that can be easily contained, globalized food systems are leading to much larger and more complex outbreaks that can be challenging to investigate. Under ideal circumstances, multiple interdisciplinary stakeholders work together to (1) identify the affected individuals and common exposures, (2) isolate the specific pathogen, (3) find the food source(s), (4) contain the outbreak, and (5) communicate investigative information to health partners and the public. Investigative models considers information from three sources: laboratory, epidemiological and food safety investigations. This presentation will summarize the findings of three reports aimed at supporting effective multidisciplinary foodborne outbreak investigations and highlighting the role of environmental public health professionals in foodborne illness outbreak investigations.