Campylobacter advice and epidemiology
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has recently launched ‘Eat safe this summer – seasonal Campylobacter advice for consumers’ which highlights the seasonal increase in laboratory-confirmed cases of Campylobacter and top tips for the safe handling of foods at barbeques and picnics (http://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/news/eat-safe-summer).
National Food Safety Week (18-24 May), run by the Food Standards Agency, has also focused on Campylobacter, with a campaign called ‘The Chicken Challenge’ (http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/campaigns/chicken-challenge).
Both these campaigns highlight the measures consumers can take to reduce the risk of becoming ill with Campylobacter. This is especially important this year as the number of laboratory-confirmed cases in the first 20 weeks of 2015 was 13.5% higher than during the same period last year, with 2225 laboratory reports compared to 1960. The number so far in 2015 is also higher than in either 2012 or 2013.
The increase in cases observed in 2015 is spread across Scotland, across weeks and ages, with no apparent clustering of cases and no reported outbreaks. HPS is working with colleagues including Food Standards Scotland to better understand the increase in Campylobacter this year, but the increase also emphasises the importance of the messages in the recent food safety campaigns designed to reduce the chances of becoming infected with Campylobacter.
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