1,663 cases of food-borne diseases in Dubai

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DUBAI - As many as 1,663 cases of food-borne illnesses have been reported in Dubai in the first nine months this year.

Published: Thu 6 Oct 2011, 11:23 AM

Last updated: Wed 17 May 2023, 4:40 PM

However, not a single person has died of food poisoning and the emirate has recorded food-borne illnesses far below the average number of cases reported in developed countries, data from the first-ever food-borne disease investigation and surveillance system has revealed.

Officials of the Food Control Department (FCD) of the Dubai Municipality (DM) and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the two government entities which jointly established the system under the guidance of the World Health Organisation and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced the initial findings of the surveillance system, said to be a first in the Middle East and Asia, at a press conference on Wednesday.

Khalid Mohammed Sherif Al Awadhi, director of the FCD, said 1,663 confirmed cases of food-borne illnesses were recorded in Dubai in the first nine months of the year after the new system was implemented.

“There were no major outbreaks and there was not a single death,” he said.

The extrapolated data showed the number of cases per year in 100,000 people in Dubai, which has a population of 1.9 million, is 88. Officials said this was far below the figures reported in developed countries like the USA, the UK, Canada and Australia, which record thousands of cases every year, compared to their population.

Asia Abdulwahab Al Raeesi, Acting Head of Food Studies and Planning Section at the FCD, said about 50 individuals were affected in up to seven cases of outbreaks of food poisoning reported. She said the outbreaks—classified so when a case involves more than one person falling sick due to a food-borne disease — were traced to food eaten by workers in labour accommodation units.

Dr Fatma Al Attar, head of Preventive Services at the DHA, said most of the patients who were infected by pathogens causing food-borne illnesses were middle-aged men. She attributed it to the high number of male workers in the emirate.

Quick identification of a food-borne disease outbreak from a common source and speedy investigation in severe cases of food poisoning are the major benefits of the new system in place. Joint teams of the DM and the DHA are conducting parallel investigation once a suspected case is reported.

“The new system has helped to notify the cases and begin investigations within 24 hours. With the new guidelines and manuals in place, hospitals and clinics are not haphazardly defining any cases of vomiting and diarrhoea as suspected cases of food poisoning. They now have a clear understanding of the case definition and they are doing all necessary lab tests to categorise and confirm the cases,” said Dr Aizeldin El Jack, a public health consultant and the Head of Preventive Medicine Section at the DHA.

Dr Al Attar said the most common food-borne illnesses reported in Dubai are Giardiasis (a parasitic infection), Amoebiasis (caused by amoeba), and Salmonella (a bacterial infection caused mainly by spoilt egg, meat etc). Though these are common infections, she said, they are not fatal. However, the next two common infections reported here — Hepatitis A and Typhoid — are serious and can be fatal, she added.

The breakdown of the diseases was not provided and officials said most of the cases have been sporadic, involving just a single case of illness. Sporadic cases could occur due to improper food practices at residences and cross contamination and under-cooking could be the likely reasons, they added.

sajila@khaleejtimes.com