Data Sources

Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance

State, local, and territorial health departments use a standard form (CDC form 52.13, http://www.cdc.gov/nors/pdf/NORS_CDC_5213.pdfpdf icon) to report foodborne disease outbreaks to CDC. Data requested for each outbreak include reporting state; date of first illness onset; the number of illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths; the etiology; the implicated food vehicle; the setting of food preparation and consumption; and contributing factors. Multistate outbreaks (i.e., those in which exposure to the implicated food occurred in more than one state) typically are reported to FDOSS by CDC.

Only reports meeting the definition of a foodborne disease outbreak, defined as the occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from the ingestion of a common food, are included in this summary. Outbreaks occurring on cruise ships that have both U.S. and international ports and those in which the food was eaten outside the United States, even if the illness occurred in the United States, are not reported to FDOSS.

Laboratory and clinical guidelines for confirming an etiology are specific to each bacterial, chemical/toxin, parasitic, and viral agent (http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/outbreaks/investigating-outbreaks/confirming_diagnosis.html). Suspected etiologies are those that do not meet the confirmation guidelines. The cause of the outbreak is categorized as “multiple etiologies” if more than one etiologic agent is reported.

Waterborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance

State, local, and territorial health departments use a standard form (CDC form 52.12, http://www.cdc.gov/nors/forms.html) to report waterborne disease outbreaks to CDC. Data requested for each outbreak include reporting state; date of first illness onset; the number of illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths; the etiology; the type of water exposure (e.g., recreational); the implicated venue or system, the setting of exposure; water quality indicators; and contributing factors.

Only reports meeting the definition of a waterborne disease outbreak, which is the occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from exposure to a common water source, are included in this summary. WBDOSS includes reports of all types of illness outbreaks associated with water; this includes both gastrointestinal illness outbreaks and respiratory illness outbreaks (e.g., outbreaks of legionellosis, which causes a respiratory illness). Outbreaks occurring on cruise ships and those in which the water exposure occurred outside the United States or its territories, even if the illness occurred in the United States, are not included in WBDOSS.