The purpose of this grant was to advance understanding of the chronic burden of foodborne illness, help the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) better estimate the true overall burden of foodborne illness, and act appropriately on food safety priorities. The main objectives were (1) to develop a questionnaire for use with healthcare providers to estimate incidence, duration and severity of post-infectious functional bowel disorders and reactive arthropathies in patients with evidence of prior infection with foodborne pathogens and (2) evaluate the available literature and secondary data sources to better characterize and quantify the association between specific acute foodborne infections and chronic sequelae, including functional bowel disorders and reactive joint diseases (arthropathies). This grant was supported by the FDA. 

Other faculty/staff/students: Alexandra Armstrong, PhD, and McKenzie Schaefer, undergraduate student.