Table 2. Number of foodborne outbreaks reported to the Outbreak Summaries (OS) Reporting System with the total number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths by etiologic agent, 2008-2014 (n=115).
| Etiologic agent | Average no. cases by outbreak Avg. (range) |
Total cases n (%) |
Hosp. n (%1) |
Deaths n (%1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bacterium | 30.8 (1-1029) | 2,588 (78.4) | 205 (15) | 30 (1.2) |
| Salmonella | 43.4 (1-1029) | 2,041 (61.8) | 106 (12) | 4 (0.2) |
| Escherichia | 11.8 (1-30) | 201 (6.1) | 84 (41.8) | 3 (1.5) |
| Campylobacter | 20 (10-30) | 40 (1.2) | - | - |
| Clostridium botulinum | 1.0 (1-1) | 3 (0.1) | 3 (100) | 1 (50) |
| Clostridium perfringens | 37.0 (28-54) | 111 (3.4) | - | - |
| Listeria | 22.3 (5-57) | 67 (2) | 9 (90) | 22 (32.8) |
| Shigella | 14.0 (14-14) | 14 (0.4) | 2 (14.3) | - |
| Staphylococcus | 11.5 (7-16) | 23 (0.7) | 1 (4.3) | - |
| Bacillus | 12.0 (11-13) | 24 (0.7) | - | - |
| Cronobacter | 1.0 (1-1) | 1 (0) | - | - |
| Other | 16.0 (16-16) | 16 (0.5) | - | - |
| Unknown | 23.5 (4-43) | 47 (1.4) | - | - |
| Virus | 24.8 (6-99) | 422 (12.8) | 11 (2.8) | - |
| Norovirus | 25.1 (7-99) | 352 (10.7) | 1 (0.3) | - |
| Hepatitis A | 13.5 (6-21) | 27 (0.8) | 10 (47.6) | - |
| Unknown | 43.0 (43-43) | 43 (1.3) | - | - |
| Toxin / chemical poison | 14.7 (2-62) | 88 (2.7) | 7 (26.9) | - |
| Histamine poisoning | 4.0 (2-6) | 8 (0.2) | 6 (75) | - |
| Shellfish poisoning | 33.0 (4-62) | 66 (2) | 1 (25) | - |
| Fiddlehead toxin | 9.0 (9-9) | 9 (0.3) | - | - |
| Unknown | 5.0 (5-5) | 5 (0.2) | - | - |
| Other | 32.0 (7-85) | 128 (3.9) | 2 (1.6) | - |
| Cyclospora | 40.3 (11-85) | 121 (3.7) | 2 (1.7) | - |
| Yeast / Fungi | 7.0 (7-7) | 7 (0.2) | - | - |
| Unknown | 18.8 (6-41) | 75 (2.3) | - | - |
| Grand total | 28.7 (1-1029) | 3,301 (100) | 225 (11.4) | 30 (1) |
1 Data shown are the total number by etiologic agent with the proportion of total cases for respective etiologic agent in parenthesis. (Note: Outbreaks with missing data for hospitalization or death were excluded from the denominator.) The information about the number of hospitalizations is missing for 10/47 Salmonella outbreak reports; 1/14 norovirus reports and one each of the Listeria, Cronobacter, Hepatitis A and Shellfish poisoning outbreak reports. The number of deaths is missing for 8/47 Salmonella outbreak reports, 2/14 norovirus reports as well as for one each of Clostridium botulinum, Bacillus cereus and Hepatitis A outbreaks.