This symposium will present and discuss the key findings of the WHO Initiative to Estimate the Global Burden of Foodborne Diseases, which for the first time presents an estimate of the global burden of foodborne disease. Illness and death from diseases caused by unsafe food are a constant threat to public health security, as well as socio-economic development throughout the world. A wide diversity of hazards, including viral, bacterial, parasitic and chemical, can be transmitted by food causing a broad range of diseases, ranging from acute to chronic and some with very high case-fatality ratios. The WHO Initiative to Estimate the Global Burden of Foodborne Diseases was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Initiative was supported by the Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference group (FERG). FERG estimates are based on a burden of disease approach, i.e., using a summary measure of population health to assess and compare the relative impact of different diseases and injuries on populations. Using Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), FERG quantified global and regional health losses due to illness and death caused by foodborne hazards. A major achievement is that estimates are not only made in regions where more and better data are available, but also in all other regions of the world, making the best use of available data.

Presentations