To the Editor: Recent media reports queried whether Australia could experience a serious outbreak of foodborne disease, such as the massive outbreak in May this year of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serotype O104:H4 in Germany.1 Australia is potentially vulnerable to foodborne disease outbreaks from contaminated fresh produce, and health and food safety authorities need to plan for these events and assess our capacity to respond.
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- 1. Frank C, Werber D, Cramer JP, et al. Epidemic profile of Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreak in Germany — preliminary report. N Engl J Med 2011; Jun 22. [Epub ahead of print.]
- 2. Kirk MD, McKay I, Hall GV, et al. Food safety: foodborne disease in Australia: the OzFoodNet experience. Clin Infect Dis 2008; 47: 392-400.
- 3. Gallot C, Grout L, Roque-Afonso AM, et al. Hepatitis A associated with semidried tomatoes, France, 2010. Emerg Infect Dis 2011; 17: 566-567.
- 4. European Food Safety Authority. Tracing seeds, in particular fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) seeds, in relation to the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O104:H4 2011 outbreaks in Germany and France [technical report]. Parma, Italy: EFSA, 2011. http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/supporting/pub/176e.htm (accessed Aug 2011).
- 5. Ferguson DD, Scheftel J, Cronquist A, et al. Temporally distinct Escherichia coli O157 outbreaks associated with alfalfa sprouts linked to a common seed source — Colorado and Minnesota, 2003. Epidemiol Infect 2005; 133: 439-447.
- 6. McPherson M, Kirk MD, Raupach J, et al. Economic costs of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infection in Australia. Foodborne Pathog Dis 2011; 8: 55-62.
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