Effective Factors on Outbreaks of Food and Water Borne Diseases in Iran: A Trend Analysis Nezhad Sadegh Yousef1, Jazani Reza Khani2, Jahangiri Katayoun3 1Dept. of Health in Emergencies and Disaster, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2Professor, Dept. of Health in Emergencies and Disaster, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3Associate Professor, Dept. of Health in Emergencies and Disaster, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Online published on 7 May, 2019. Abstract Introduction Waterborne and foodborne diseases are a major global public health concern. This study was conducted to identify affecting factors on waterborne and food borne outbreaks and analyzing its trend in Iran. Materials and Method A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using waterborne and foodborne disease national surveillance system data from 2015–2016, which have been reported by all provincial health centers to the Center for Communicable Disease Control of the ministry of health. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 software. Results a total of 5, 500 water and food borne outbreaks reported in Iran. Analyzed data showed that the outbreak rate was 4.14/100000 in 2015 to 2.7/100000 population in 2016 in Iran. According to laboratory results, the most frequent microbial pathogens which were sources of outbreaks included Escherichia Coli, Shigella, Entamoeba Histolytica, Salmonella, Hepatitis A virus and Vibrio NAG (Non Agglutinating Groups). The highest frequency of outbreak occurred in rural areas (56.1%). The most commonly reported symptoms were abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Qazvin, Zanjan and Kermanshah were three provinces that reported more outbreaks than nationally outbreak incidence rate during 2015–2016. Discussion and Conclusion trend analysis of reported Waterborne and foodborne diseases in Iran showed a seasonal pattern, particularly increased in autumn. Occurrence of this outbreaks in many provinces with higher incidence need to root cause analysis and interventions subsequently. These interventions should be carried out both at the level of health policy-makers to set appropriate, evidence-based priorities in the area of water and food safety and at the community level. Using syndromic surveillance data for outbreak detection, active case-finding, timely diagnosis, accurate treatment, patients monitoring along with public health education are highly recommended. Rational use and prescription of drugs inhibits antibiotic resistance and can reduce the cost of therapeutic of these diseases. Top Keywords Foodborne diseases, Outbreak, Surveillance system, Water borne diseases. Top |