B14001: Food poisoning and foreign travel - a study of population health burden and risk factors for antibiotic resistance
Wednesday 25 June 2003
This research project aims to collect information on the contribution of foreign travel to food poisoning.
Background
Foreign travel is recognised as a risk factor for food poisoning and other infectious intestinal diseases although the scale of the problem in the UK has not been well defined. Gastrointestinal infections acquired abroad will sometimes include organisms which are resistant to antimicrobials although little appears to be known about the role of these organisms in the problem of antimicrobial resistance in the UK. Information is required on the contribution of foreign travel to food poisoning and other IID to assist the Agency in addressing its target of reducing food poisoning in the UK. At the same time information is also needed on antimicrobial resistance associated with such infections to define the scale of the problem and the contribution it makes to the UK picture.
Research Approach
This project includes a case-control study to identify risk factors for antibiotic resistance in campylobacter species, and to calculate the population-attributable fraction for each risk factor. Risk factors being considered include recent foreign travel, recent antibiotic use by either the patient or a household contact and a history of recent contact with animals. Additionally, the project will also compare clinical outcome at the time of acute illness and six months later in-patients with illness caused by antibiotic resistant and antibiotic sensitive campylobacter infection.