Objective: To study the epidemiological characteristics of foodborne disease outbreaks in China in 2006.
Methods: The foodborne diseases data collected by the National Foodborne Disease Surveillance Network in 2006 were analyzed.
Results: There were 594 outbreaks of foodborne disease reported from 18 provinces in 2006, which caused illness in 13849 persons and death in 67. Among outbreaks for which the etiology was determined, microbial pathogens caused the largest percentage of outbreaks (48.3%) and the largest percentage of cases (63.3%), chemical agents, 24.8% of outbreaks and 15.5% of cases, and animal and plant agents, 23.5% of outbreaks and 17.7% of cases.
Conclusion: As discovered by the National Foodborne Disease Surveillance Network, microbial foodborne disease remains a major public health problem in China, and the awareness to report foodborne disease incidents need to be intensified in the future.