Survey of physicians working for AIDS core hospitals on foodborne disease reporting

OBJECTIVES: To clarify the attitude of physicians toward the diagnosis and reporting on patients with foodborne disease after implementation of infectious disease prevention and medical treatment to patients as per the Infectious Diseases Act of 1999. METHODS: A questionnaire, including experience of diagnosis and reporting on patients with foodborne disease, was mailed to all physicians in charge of AIDS treatment in medical facilities established as AIDS core hospitals. RESULTS: Out of the 391 AIDS core hospitals, 224 (57%) cooperated with the survey. Seven hundred and four questionnaires were distributed to physicians and 681 (97%) were returned. The number of physicians with experience of diagnosing patients with foodborne disease was 391 (57%). One hundred and sixty-six physicians (57%) answered "Reported occasionally" and fifty-five (14%) answered "Never reported". The two main reasons for not reporting were "Did not report because I thought there were no other cases" and "Did not report because the case was not so severe". CONCLUSIONS: A single or sporadic case must be reported by physicians to health authorities to ensure an early alert of illness or potential illness that could affect communities.