Burden of acute gastrointestinal illness in Canada, 1999-2007: interim summary of NSAGI activities

The National Studies on Acute Gastrointestinal Illness (NSAGI) initiative was designed to generate baseline period prevalence rates of self-reported AGI in communities across Canada, assess the burden associated with AGI, and quantify the under-reporting of AGI in Canada's national enteric disease reporting systems.

Methods utilized included population surveys administered randomly via telephone services. Three population surveys in three locations within Canada included over 10,000 residents. Questions pertained to recent symptoms as well as socio-demographic factors, use of the health care system and missed work or school due to illness.

In summary of published results, there are an estimated 1.3 episodes of AGI per person-year and an estimated 10-47, 13-37 and 23-49 cases in the community for every case of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter, respectively, captured within the national surveillance system. AGI represents an annual per capita cost of $115 CAD.

The work of NSAGI highlights the significant burden and impact of AGI in the Canadian population. These results will also be incorporated into the current work at the World Health Organization (WHO) to estimate the global burden of food related illnesses.