Project Name

• Ecology of Campylobacteriosis and Waterborne Diarrhoeal Disease

Client

• NZ Ministry of Health

Description of Project

This project was designed to establish the environmental determinants of waterborne Campylobacter infection, and the spatial and temporal distribution of associated gastrointestinal disease.  It was found that dominant transmission routes differ in time and place.  Public health interventions aiming to decrease the disease burden from campylobacteriosis therefore need to be region- and time-specific, rather than broad and general as tends to be the case currently.  The findings are generalisable to the management of freshwater supplies to minimise the public health risk to consumers. The cornerstone of the this project was the provision of a world class research service that integrated both a number of different disciplines as well as a diversity of stakeholders (ranging from Government Ministries to associations of rural consumers).  The success of the project demonstrates the value of this approach and the expertise of the research team in carrying it to completion.