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In December 2024, the Public Health Agency of Canada started an investigation into a cluster of Salmonella illnesses with no known cause. Over the next few weeks, the investigation team and their partners left no stone unturned in the search for the source of the outbreak. This seminar will include an overview of the collaborative outbreak investigation, including tools and strategies used to solve the outbreak and the outcomes of the investigation.
Megan Striha, Public Health Agency of Canada, Outbreak Management Division
This presentation will describe a 2024 Canadian Listeria monocytogenes outbreak investigation that implicated refrigerated plant-based beverages as the source of illness. While L. monocytogenes outbreaks have previously been linked to pasteurized products, this is the first known outbreak linked to pasteurized plant-based beverages. Listeria cannot survive pasteurization, however, contamination can occur during post-pasteurization processing. The evidence that led to implicating plant-based refrigerated beverages as the source of the illness will be discussed, as well as outbreak control measures.
Leigh Hobbs, Public Health Ontario, Enteric Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases
Foodbook 2.0: a Canadian food consumption study – September 5, 2024
Foodbook is a national food consumption survey conducted by the Public Health Agency of Canada. The second version of the survey, Foodbook 2.0, was conducted from January 2023 to January 2024 using online and phone interviews. Over 21,000 people in Canada were surveyed, with respondents from each province and territory. Respondents were asked about their food, animal and water exposures over the past seven days, as well as their food safety knowledge and practices, and recent acute gastrointestinal illnesses. This seminar will cover what Foodbook is and how the data is used, as well as results from Foodbook 2.0 and how the data can be accessed.
Kate M. Thomas, Public Health Agency of Canada, Food-Borne Disease and Antimicrobial Surveillance Division
Megan Tooby, Public Health Agency of Canada, Outbreak Management Division
In November 2023, the Public Health Agency of Canada initiated an investigation into a cluster of illnesses associated with the consumption of cantaloupe. It was the first outbreak of its kind in Canada, and would quickly become the most severe multi-jurisdictional enteric illness outbreak in the past 15 years. This seminar will include an overview of the collaborative outbreak investigation, the vulnerable populations impacted, and the actions taken to prevent illness.
Courtney R Smith, Public Health Agency of Canada, Outbreak Management Division
Multiple shellfish outbreak investigations occurred in Canada between 2015 and 2022 involving oysters and spot prawns. This seminar will include an overview of notable shellfish outbreaks from the perspective of both provincial (British Columbia) and federal public health partners, and will describe the actions taken to prevent, mitigate, and manage similar outbreaks in the future.
Jennifer Liang, Public Health Agency of Canada, Outbreak Management Division
Hannah Caird, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control
Lorraine McIntyre, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control
In August 2022, 11 individuals in Ontario experienced symptoms consistent with aconitine poisoning after consuming a restaurant meal. Local, provincial, and federal public health partners investigated, and galanga (sand ginger) powder containing aconitine toxin was identified as the source of the illnesses. This seminar will describe the actions of local, provincial, and federal public health partners in response to this event.
Katharine Fagan-Garcia, Public Health Agency of Canada, Outbreak Management Division
Ashley Kerr, Public Health Agency of Canada, Outbreak Management Division
Dr. Barry Pakes, Medical Officer of Health, York Region Public Health
Richard Wooton, Health Canada, Surveillance and Coordination Unit
Dr. Curtis Oleschuk, Queen’s University
COVID-19 Impacts on Enteric Pathogens in Canada – June 29, 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the reported rates of various enteric diseases. This seminar will explore the trends experienced in Canada during the acute phase of the pandemic from March 2020 to December 2020 for select enteric pathogens.
Russell Forrest, Public Health Agency of Canada, Outbreak Management Division