Magnitude and distribution of acute, self-reported gastrointestinal illness in a Canadian community

MAJOWICZ, S. E.
DORÉ, K.
FLINT, J. A.
EDGE, V. L.
READ, S.
BUFFETT, M. C.
McEWEN, S.
McNAB, W. B.
STAGEY, D.
SOCKETT, P.
WILSON, J. B.

¹Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
²Foodborne, Waterborne and Zoonotic Infections Division, Health Canada, Guelph and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
³Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, Health Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
⁴Social and Public Health Services Department, City of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
⁵Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
⁶Innovation and Risk Management Branch, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
⁷Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

^*Address for correspondence: Ms. S. E. Majowicz, Health Canada, 160 Research Lane, Suite 206, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 5B2.

(Accepted 3 March 2004)

Epidemiology & Infection 132(4):p 607-617, August 2004.

SUMMARY

To estimate the magnitude and distribution of self-reported, acute gastrointestinal illness in a Canadian-based population, we conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional telephone survey of approximately 3500 randomly selected residents of the city of Hamilton (Ontario, Canada) from February 2001 to February 2002. The observed monthly prevalence was 10% (95% CI 9.94–10.14) and the incidence rate was 1.3 (95% CI 1.1–1.4) episodes per person-year; this is within the range of estimates from other developed countries. The prevalence was higher in females and in those aged <10 years and 20–24 years. Overall, prevalence peaked in April and October, but a different temporal distribution was observed for those aged <10 years. Although these data were derived from one community, they demonstrate that the epidemiology of acute gastrointestinal illness in a Canadian-based population is similar to that reported for other developed countries.