Assessment of disease burden caused by biological agents associated with unsafe food in the Republic of North Macedonia

Diseases associated with unsafe food are common and cause significant public health and socioeconomic impact globally. The aim of the paper is to determine the burden of infections caused by biological agents at the national level and to determine the public health and economic impact. Material and methods: data from the national database of infectious diseases for 2019 were used, incidence, YLL, YLD, DALY and economic losses were determined. Results: In 2019, 7682 patients with diseases caused by biological agents were registered, of which 3755 or 48.9% were male patients and 3927 or 51.10 % were female patients. The most represented age group are people aged 6-15 (211 patients). The highest number of cases were registered in Skopje with 312 cases (32.8%). DALY is 1417,328 or 68.25 DALY per 100 000 population. The economic burden is 472 751 172 denars or 7 687 011 €. Conclusion: A better understanding of the true burden of foodborne disease is important for food safety policy making and decision making