Economic aspects of food-borne outbreaks and their control

This paper begins with a discussion of the definition of an outbreak. It co nsiders the portion of outbreaks in the general pattern of food-borne infec tious disease. The methods used to identify outbreaks are described and the importance of the potential benefits and the economic impact of outbreak r ecognition and control and are discussed. The paper concludes by illustrati ng the economic impact of intervention using three infectious diseases botu lism, Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157 as case studies of outbreaks.