A Network for Foodborne Disease Surveillance
The
PulseNet surveillance system is a molecular subtyping network of public health
and food regulatory agency laboratories designed to identify and facilitate
investigation of foodborne illness outbreaks.
This study
estimates health and economic impacts associated with PulseNet.
The
staggered adoption of PulseNet across the states offers a natural experiment to
evaluate its effectiveness, which is measured as reduction of reported
illnesses due to improved information, enhanced industry accountability, and
more-rapid recalls.
Economic
impacts attributable to PulseNet include medical costs and productivity losses
averted due to reduced illness.
Program
costs are also reported. Better information and accountability from enhanced
surveillance is associated with large reductions of reported illnesses.
Data
collected between 1994 and 2009 were assembled and analyzed between 2010 and
2015. Conservatively, accounting for underreporting and under diagnosis,
266,522 illnesses from Salmonella,
9,489 illnesses from Escherichia
coli (E. coli), and 56 illnesses due to Listeria monocytogenes are avoided annually.
This
reduces medical and productivity costs by $507 million.
Additionally,
direct effects from improved recalls reduce illnesses from E. coli by 2,819 and Salmonella by 16,994, leading to
$37 million in costs averted.
Annual costs to public health agencies are
$7.3 million.
The
PulseNet system makes possible the identification of food safety risks by
detecting widespread or non-focal outbreaks.
This gives
stakeholders information for informed decision making and provides a powerful
incentive for industry. Furthermore, PulseNet enhances the focus of regulatory
agencies and limits the impact of outbreaks.
The health
and economic benefits from PulseNet and the foodborne disease surveillance system
are substantial.
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