Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet)

FoodNet conducts active population-based surveillance in 10 U.S. states for all laboratory-diagnosed infections of select enteric pathogens transmitted commonly through food. Infections are defined as isolation of the bacteria from a clinical specimen by culture or detection of pathogen antigen, nucleic acid sequences, or, for STEC Shiga toxin or Shiga toxin genes, by a culture-independent diagnostic test (CIDT). A CIDT detects the presence of a specific antibody or antigen or the DNA of an organism. FoodNet personnel regularly contact clinical laboratories to ascertain laboratory-diagnosed cases of infection occurring within the surveillance sites. Hospitalizations occurring within 7 days of specimen collection date are recorded, as is the patient's status (dead or alive) at hospital discharge or 7 days after the specimen collection date if not hospitalized, whether the patient traveled abroad before illness began, and selected food and environmental exposures for select pathogens. Deaths and hospitalizations are attributed to the pathogen if they occur within 7 days of the specimen collection date regardless of actual cause. Cases with no documentation of international travel or unknown travel are considered domestically acquired infections.