OzFoodNet
OzFoodNet is a national collaborative network of epidemiologists and microbiologists who conduct enhanced surveillance, outbreak investigation and applied research into foodborne disease across Australia. The organisation aims to:
- estimate the incidence and cost of foodborne illness in Australia
- investigate the epidemiology of foodborne diseases, by enhancing surveillance and conducting special studies on foodborne pathogens
- collaborate nationally to coordinate investigations into foodborne disease outbreaks, particularly those that cross state, territory and country borders
- identify foods and commodities that cause human illness and provide information to food safety agencies for risk assessment
- train people to investigate foodborne illness.
OzFoodNet is part of a World Health Organization capacity building network that promotes integrated, laboratory based surveillance and collaboration among human health, veterinary and food-related disciplines (Global Foodborne Infections Network (GFN)).
Read more about OzFoodNet Australia
OzFoodNet in Queensland has state responsibility to provide surveillance functions and epidemiological capacity to monitor enteric disease incidence and enable the early detection and investigation of outbreaks of foodborne disease including multijurisdictional (national) outbreaks.
Data collected from outbreak investigations and from epidemiological studies of sporadic disease provide information on local risk factors and emerging pathogens, and inform prevention efforts, risk assessments and policy.