Foodborne and enteric illness outbreak investigations :
Public health authorities may submit reports of outbreak investigations in Canada to Outbreak Summaries.
- Last updated: 2026-01-20
Enteric Outbreak Summaries (OS) is a web-based application used by public health authorities in Canada. It is coordinated by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). In Canada, there are local, regional, provincial, territorial and federal health authorities. They investigate outbreaks of foodborne and enteric (intestinal) illnesses. Health authorities may submit standardized information about those investigations to OS. Since 2008, OS has collected reports of outbreaks caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites.
Current status
As of January 2026, this dashboard includes multi-jurisdictional outbreak investigations between 2008 and 2024. PHAC coordinated these investigations because multi-jurisdictional outbreaks involve more than one province or territory.
Summary of dataset
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About these data tiles
- Number of outbreaks: the number of outbreak investigations submitted to Outbreak Summaries.
- Number of illnesses: the sum of all laboratory-confirmed and clinical (no laboratory results) outbreak cases submitted to Outbreak Summaries.
- Number of hospitalizations: the submitted number of outbreak cases with a hospital stay of more than 24 hours. Hospitalization status may not be submitted for all outbreak cases.
- Number of deaths: the submitted number of outbreak cases that resulted in death. Vital status may not be submitted for all outbreak cases.
Considerations
This dashboard only includes multi-jurisdictional outbreak investigations coordinated by PHAC. It does not reflect all foodborne and enteric illness outbreaks in Canada. Not all outbreaks are detected, investigated, or have a source identified. Therefore, underreporting is a known issue.
Public Health Notices are not issued for all outbreaks in Canada. They are issued when there is an opportunity to protect public health and reduce the spread of illnesses. The purpose is to inform the public of potential health risks identified during an outbreak investigation. Since each outbreak is different, public health authorities assess whether public communication can help protect public health during each investigation.
Outbreak summaries can be submitted any time, even in subsequent years. This system ensures that information is shared with public health professionals in a timely way. The dashboard only reflects data current as of the last update.
Suggested citation
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2026).
Foodborne and illness outbreak investigations.
Available at: https://health-infobase.canada.ca/enteric-illness/outbreaks/.
Contact us
If you would like more details beyond what is on this dashboard, contact us at
outbreak.summaries-registre.eclosions@phac-aspc.gc.ca
Additional resources
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Foodbook: Canadian food, animal, and water exposure survey
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FoodNet Canada
The integrated sentinel site surveillance network for enteric disease in Canada
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