Officials in New Zealand have reported progress on a target to reduce domestic foodborne Campylobacter infections in the country. A report prepared by the Institute of Environmental and Scientific Research (ESR) found that the rate of New Zealand-acquired foodborne illness caused by Campylobacter has fallen from 88 to 77 cases per 100,000 population from 2020 to 2023. In 2020, a target was set to reduce the rate to 70 cases per 100,000 by the end of 2024.
Campylobacter is the country’s most common foodborne illness. “New Zealand Food Safety has made reducing campylobacteriosis rates a key priority, and we’ve made great strides in recent years. Infection rates more than halved between 2006 and 2020,” said Vincent Arbuckle, New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general.
More travel-related infections In 2023, the number of campylobacteriosis notifications was slightly more than in 2022, as overseas travel cases increased. This resulted in a net decrease in domestically acquired foodborne campylobacteriosis rate from 81 cases in 2022 to 77 in 2023. In 2023, 6,089 Campylobacter cases were recorded.
However, this number drops to 4,010 when using the estimates for domestically acquired foodborne infections. The data comes from EpiSurv, the notifiable disease surveillance system, and the Ministry of Health’s database on separate hospitalizations. In total, 989 people were hospitalized.
No cases were recorded with campylobacteriosis as the primary cause of death. The noti.