FoodNet Canada:

The integrated sentinel site surveillance network for enteric disease in Canada.

  • Last updated: 2024-10-29

FoodNet Canada's interactive data visualizations provide an overview of surveillance data since 2015 by:

The interactive visualizations are updated regularly, and therefore may differ from published FoodNet Canada reports.

Please contact FoodNet Canada with any additional questions about our data, or to submit a formal data request if you plan to publish these data or require additional data.

For additional information, please visit the Public Health Agency of Canada's FoodNet Canada webpage.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in several disruptions to FoodNet Canada surveillance activities from 2020 to 2022. The Quebec sentinel site was implemented in July 2019. For further details, please refer to figure footnotes.

Definitions

Sentinel site: A sentinel site is a community from which in-depth data are gathered and used to inform programs and policies affecting a larger geographic area. Sentinel sites generate results that are representative of the broader population.

Case classifications:

Endemic
Endemic cases of disease are affected individuals who had an infection that was considered sporadic and domestically acquired (i.e., within Canada).
Lost to follow-up (LTF)
Includes cases that could not be followed up with an interview by public health.
Non-endemic
Includes immigration-related cases where illness was acquired outside of Canada.
Outbreak
Outbreak-related cases of disease are one of a number of affected individuals associated with an increased occurrence of the same infectious disease, whose illness is confirmed through a public health partner (British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec sentinel sites) on the basis of laboratory and/or epidemiological evidence.
Travel
Travel-related cases of disease (excludes non-endemic cases) are individuals who travelled outside of Canada, and where the travel dates overlap with the expected disease incubation period (varies depending on the pathogen).

Abbreviations:

FBCP
Frozen breaded chicken products
IR
Incidence rate
STEC
Shigatoxigenic E. coli

Figure 1. FoodNet Canada human enteric disease incidence rates per 100,000 population

Combined sites include the following sentinel sites: British Columbia (Fraser Health), Alberta (Alberta Health Services: Calgary and Central Zones), Ontario (Middlesex-London Health Unit) and Quebec (Région sociosanitaire de la Montérégie). If the 'Combined sites' option is selected, all available site data will be included in this trendline.

Sentinel sites:
Figure 1 — Text description
Figure 1 — Notes

Figure 2. FoodNet Canada human enteric disease annual incidence rates per 100,000 population by case classification and total

Combined sites includes the following sentinel sites: British Columbia (Fraser Health), Alberta (Alberta Health Services: Calgary and Central Zones), Ontario (Middlesex-London Health Unit) and Quebec (Région sociosanitaire de la Montérégie). If the 'Combined sites' option is selected, all available site data will be included in this trendline.

No data is available for the current selection.

Case classification Incidence rate per 100,000 population Proportion (%)
Total incidence rate

For pathogens with low total incidence rates, case classification proportions should be interpreted with caution due to low case counts.

Figure 2 — Text description
Figure 2 — Notes

Figure 3. Prevalence of enteric pathogens, by surveillance component and FoodNet Canada sentinel site

Combined sites include the following sentinel sites: British Columbia (Fraser Health), Alberta (Alberta Health Services: Calgary and Central Zones), Ontario (Middlesex-London Health Unit) and Quebec (Région sociosanitaire de la Montérégie). If the 'Combined sites' option is selected, all available site data will be included in this trendline.


Sentinel sites:

There are data points that overlap since they have the same value. Please see the text description below to see all data.

Figure 3 — Text description
Figure 3 — Notes

Acknowledgements

PHAC acknowledges the significant investments made by FoodNet Canada partners in the four sentinel sites, our provincial and federal government agency colleagues, and academic and industry collaborators who help to make this program a continued success.

Suggested citation

FoodNet Canada: The integrated sentinel site surveillance network for enteric disease in Canada, as of May 2024. Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Infobase. https://health-infobase.canada.ca/foodnet-canada/


Additional data resources

Date modified: