Foodborne Disease Outbreaks in the Philippines (2005–2018)
Philippine Journal of Science 148 (2): 317-336, June 2019 ISSN 0031 - 7683 Date Received: 16 Nov 2018 Foodborne Disease Outbreaks in the Philippines (2005–2018) Maria Patricia V. Azanza*, Bernard Niño Q. Membrebe, Rowena Grace R. Sanchez, Emil Emmanuel C. Estilo, Una Grace M. Dollete, Rodney J. Feliciano, and Nadine Kristel A. Garcia Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Home Economics University of the Philippines, Diliman 1101 Quezon City, Philippines The study detailed 209 reported Philippine foodborne disease outbreaks (FBDOs) for the period 2005 – Jun 2018. Multiple implicated foods were associated in majority of the studied outbreaks. Meat-containing dishes were the most common causative foods in the evaluated outbreaks with defined food vehicles. Food service eating facilities and households were found more prone to outbreak occurrences. Although there were reported outbreaks with unidentified causative agents, Salmonella spp., Henipavirus, Entamoeba histolytica, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus were cited as primary causes of infections. Human intoxications involved staphylococcal enterotoxins, carbamate toxin, and paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin. Impact of the study on the implementation of national food safety controls of the Philippines was also cited. Keywords: foodborne diseases, foodborne outbreaks, food safety, Philippines INTRODUCTION of 140–360 disability-adjusted life years per 100,000 population (WHO 2015). Although unhygienic food An FBDO is defined by the US Center for Disease Control preparation occurs both in developing and industrialized and Prevention (CDC) as an occurrence in which at least countries, it was reported that a safe food supply chain two persons experience a similar illness resulting from becomes more difficult to obtain in developing countries the ingestion of a common food (CDC 2012).
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