The Incidence of Acute Gastrointestinal Illness in Canada, Foodbook 2.0 Study 2023–2024

A retrospective, cross-sectional, online, and telephone survey was completed by 21,744 residents of Canada in 2023 to estimate the burden of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) in Canada. The 4-week prevalence of AGI (including those with respiratory symptoms) in Canada was 6.4% (95% CI: 5.8-6.9), with an annual incidence of 0.86 episodes per person-year (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.78-0.93), resulting in an annual estimated 34.4 million episodes of AGI in Canada. Cases of AGI without concurrent respiratory symptoms had a 4-week prevalence of 4.6% (95% CI: 4.1-5.0) and an annual incidence of 0.61 episodes per person-year (95% CI: 0.55-0.67), resulting in an estimated 24.4 million episodes of AGI without respiratory symptoms each year in Canada. The odds of having AGI were significantly higher for females and transgender individuals compared with males, individuals ages 0-9 compared with individuals ages 20-64, and Indigenous individuals compared with White individuals. Overall, the prevalence and incidence values obtained were comparable with the values previously estimated for Canada and similar to international values. These results highlight the continued public health importance of AGI in Canada and will inform future burden of illness activities.