Foodborne and waterborne illness data

Surveillance summaries of foodborne and waterborne illnesses reported to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

What is foodborne and waterborne illness?

Most foodborne and waterborne illnesses are caused by enteric (intestinal) pathogens and result in gastrointestinal illness symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. Food and water can be contaminated by a variety of different bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxins. People can get sick after ingesting contaminated food or water and spread these illnesses to each other through their stool. Some enteric pathogens can also be spread through contact with animals and the areas where animals live. Legionnaires’ disease is acquired by inhaling small droplets of water contaminated with Legionella bacteria and is also a waterborne illness.

Foodborne and waterborne illness reported in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) conducts ongoing surveillance of several foodborne and waterborne illnesses.

The Foodborne and Waterborne Illness 10-Year Morbidity Report gives an overview of incidence of reported foodborne and waterborne illness in Massachusetts.

Foodborne and Waterborne Illness Reported in Massachusetts, 2016-2026¹

Disease	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026 YTD
Amebiasis	50	31	31	46	22	20	22	44	54	42	31
Campylobacter	1368	1408	1547	1726	1061	1440	1690	1661	1932	1911	1459
Cryptosporidiosis	198	156	247	226	119	138	172	190	162	281	123
Cyclospora	23	25	33	211	24	37	38	97	82	74	244
Giardia	585	556	559	529	273	377	606	582	748	544	361
Legionella	141	203	389	256	180	290	214	258	208	212	143
Listeria	21	36	31	29	39	30	41	45	49	29	16
Norovirus	492	409	508	529	366	310	679	1254	2128	3119	2062
Salmonella	1198	1168	1244	1129	718	901	1106	1208	1245	1130	856
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli	140	159	182	180	127	177	199	227	347	445	341
Shigella	183	186	206	257	120	162	256	303	396	414	304
Vibrio	65	72	82	91	62	108	103	99	126	118	110
Yersiniosis	46	36	51	87	59	90	118	134	184	197	171

¹Data are current as of 09/01/2026 and include year-to-date (YTD) case counts through 09/01/2026. Data are preliminary and subject to change.

Confirmed and probable cases are included for Amebiasis, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Giardia, Legionella, Listeria, Norovirus, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia.  Shiga toxin-producing E. coli includes confirmed, probable, and suspect cases.

Foodborne outbreaks investigated in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) works with local boards of health to investigate foodborne illness outbreaks.

The Foodborne Illness Outbreak Report provides an overview of reportable foodborne diseases, whole genome sequencing clusters, and foodborne outbreaks investigated by year.

• Foodborne Illness Outbreak Report, Massachusetts, 2023