Conference Abstract | Volume 9 (ConfProc7): Abstract 112 | Published: 13 Oct 2026
Saeed Abdullah1,&, Belinda Nsiah Opoku2, Rita Agyekumwaa Asante1, Benjamin Osei-tutu1, Jabir Seidu3, Titus Yaawie2, Samuel Oko Sackey2, Ernest Kenu2
1Food and Drugs Authority, Department of Food Safety Coordination and Consumer Education, Accra, Ghana, 2Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program, University of Ghana School of Public Health, Accra, Ghana, 3Ghana Health Service, Public Health, Accra, Ghana
&Corresponding author: Saeed Jabactey Abdullah; Food and Drugs Authority, Department of Food Safety Coordination and Consumer Education, Accra, Ghana, Email: saeed.abdullah@fda.gov.gh
Received: 29 Aug 2025, Accepted: 28 Oct 2025, Published: 13 Oct 2026
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
This is part of the Proceedings of the 8th Ghana FELTP Scientific Conference and FELTP Competency Graduation, Accra, Ghana, 10 – 11 December, 2025
Keywords: Trends, Foodborne disease, Pattern, Ghana, Surveillance, Food and Drugs Authority
©Saeed Abdullah et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Saeed Abdullah et al. Trends and pattern of food-borne disease outbreaks in Ghana: A review of the Food and Drugs Authority surveillance data, 2020-2024. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfProc7):112. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO7-00112
Globally, 600 million cases of foodborne diseases are reported annually, and 23% result in deaths. The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA)-Ghana, operates a surveillance system aimed at detecting and responding to foodborne disease outbreaks. There has been limited analysis of the data in the system, hence this study is to assess the person, place and time characteristics of the outbreaks from 2020-2024, the most implicated food item, and to examine the proportion of outbreaks in which causality has been established from 2020-2024.
A descriptive analysis of secondary data from the database of the national foodborne disease surveillance system of the FDA was employed. The analysis aggregated data from all foodborne disease outbreaks investigated across the country from 2020-2024 as contained in the system. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, and proportions were used to summarize the epidemiological characteristics of the outbreaks and presented in tables and graphs using SPSS statistical software.
The study revealed 38 foodborne outbreaks over the period, affecting 1622 victims. Males accounted for 62.8% (1018/1622) of the victims. Also, 36.8% (14, 38) of the outbreaks occurred at institutions, with the Greater Accra experiencing the highest number of outbreaks 23.7% (9/38). The year 2023 witnessed the highest number of outbreaks 36.7% (12/38). Waakye was identified as the most implicated food item for the reported outbreaks over the period 18.4% (7/38). Moreover, no causality was established in any of the foodborne disease outbreaks.
A few outbreaks occurred, with most of the victims been males. Majority of the outbreaks occurred in 2023, and in institutional settings. Waakye was the most implicated food. Causality was not established in any of the outbreaks. This calls for strengthened regulation at high-risk vendor sites such as Waakye joints to reduce the number of foodborne outbreaks in the country.
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