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A Comparative Exposure Assessment of Campylobacter in Ontario, Canada
Author(s) -
Pintar Katarina D.M.,
Thomas Kate M.,
Christidis Tanya,
Otten Ainsley,
Nesbitt Andrea,
Marshall Barbara,
Pollari Frank,
Hurst Matt,
Ravel Andre
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
risk analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1539-6924
pISSN - 0272-4332
DOI - 10.1111/risa.12653
Subject(s) - campylobacter , environmental health , transmission (telecommunications) , recreation , exposure assessment , raw milk , risk assessment , livestock , population , geography , veterinary medicine , biology , medicine , food science , ecology , engineering , genetics , computer security , bacteria , computer science , electrical engineering
To inform source attribution efforts, a comparative exposure assessment was developed to estimate the relative exposure to Campylobacter , the leading bacterial gastrointestinal disease in Canada, for 13 different transmission routes within Ontario, Canada, during the summer. Exposure was quantified with stochastic models at the population level, which incorporated measures of frequency, quantity ingested, prevalence, and concentration, using data from FoodNet Canada surveillance, the peer‐reviewed and gray literature, other Ontario data, and data that were specifically collected for this study. Models were run with @Risk software using Monte Carlo simulations. The mean number of cells of Campylobacter ingested per Ontarian per day during the summer, ranked from highest to lowest is as follows: household pets, chicken, living on a farm, raw milk, visiting a farm, recreational water, beef, drinking water, pork, vegetables, seafood, petting zoos, and fruits. The study results identify knowledge gaps for some transmission routes, and indicate that some transmission routes for Campylobacter are underestimated in the current literature, such as household pets and raw milk. Many data gaps were identified for future data collection consideration, especially for the concentration of Campylobacter in all transmission routes.