Description
The Minnesota Model (MN Model) for foodborne illness and disease
surveillance evolved from a system in which Departments of Public Health and
Agriculture were housed in separate locations with no centralized food illness
reporting system. Now, the departments are connected in a joint facility that
includes a diagnostic laboratory and a centralized reporting system that feeds
into a cross-agency team. The surveillance system includes mandated isolate
submission, centralized disease reporting, trained and experienced leadership,
case interview capacity, a complaint hotline, and FoodNet/PulseNet resources.
When an outbreak occurs, the MN Model includes immediate interviewing of
cases during evenings and weekends, detailed questionnaires, dynamic cluster
investigations, ingredient specific analysis, and supply chain traceback. A
collaborative program between the Minnesota Department of Health and the
University of Minnesota provides graduate student paraprofessionals to perform
evening and weekend case interviews.
Purpose
The MN Model cuts across disciplines, agencies, and traditional government/university
boundaries to prevent and respond more efficiently to outbreaks of
foodborne illness.
Scope Local - State of Minnesota, USA, although the MN Model often collaborates to
solve regional and nation-wide outbreaks.
Primary Funders
Annual state funding and federal funding through the FoodNet program.
Participants & Key Collaborators
Minnesota Department of Public Health, Minnesota Department of
Agriculture, Minnesota Governor's Office, University of Minnesota.
Definition of One Health
None. Key founders of the MN Model recognized that to be more effective in
combating foodborne disease, multiple government agencies and outside
collaborators would need to work together.
Monitoring & Evaluation Strategy
The system for foodborne illness surveillance has achieved a major
transformation from earlier systems. Because much of this change was designed
to address practical business needs, it has largely been institutionalized. No
formal system is in place to address the continuing process of development for
the MN Model, but the success of the current system is monitored in terms of
successful disease detection and response.
Sources of Information
Interviews with:
-Gene Hugoson, Former commissioner of Agriculture
-Craig Hedberg, Professor of Environmental Health, University of Minnesota
-Michael Osterholm, Director of Center for Infectious Disease Research and
Policy
Contact Kirk Smith
Minnesota Department of Health
651-201-5414
Craig Hedberg
University of Minnesota
