Estimating the burden of foodborne diseases is an essential component of efforts to rank risks of foodborne diseases, establish food safety priorities, and efficiently allocate resources for disease prevention. The World Health Organization (WHO) aims to strengthen the capacity of countries to assess their burden of foodborne disease, and to increase the number of countries that have undertaken such a study To support these efforts, the WHO published a handbook that provides guidance on assessing the burden of foodborne diseases caused by microbiological agents commonly transmitted through foods. It is particularly intended for use at national level, and gives a complete picture of the requirements, enabling factors, challenges and opportunities involved, and the steps in the process. It also aims to foster harmonization of methodologies for estimating foodborne disease burden across countries.

The handbook, "Estimating the burden of foodborne diseases: a practical handbook for countries", is available via https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/341634.

More information about the WHO work on foodborne disease burden is available via https://www.who.int/activities/estimating-the-burden-of-foodborne-diseases.