Salmonella in humans and food, a dangerous zoonosis: official food samples compared to the prevalence of infection population

This study linked data from various public health institutions. Salmonellosis and other food-borne infectious diseases pose an interdisciplinary challenge for livestock farmers, food producers, retailers, veterinarians, human doctors and public institutions. The study examines a possible link between consumption levels, livestock density and contamination rates of certain food categories and the prevalence of infection in the population. The description and analysis of such data, some of which is aggregated, is referred to as an ecological study. The results of the investigation into a link between the above variables and the prevalence of salmonellosis must be assessed carefully and critically. All data were collected independently of each other and outside of epidemiological studies. In order to rule out an ecological fallacy, significant associations between the variables must not be interpreted as causal and do not allow any conclusions to be drawn at the individual level.