NCEAs objective is to assess the available literature and develop qualitative assessments of human health risks and exposure characterizations for Coxsackievirus, Calicivirus and Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC).
Quantitative dose-response and exposure data for Coxsackievirus and Norovirus (formerly Calicivirus) is limited. Appropriate surrogate data may be limited too. There are few or no animal or human dose-response and disease endpoint (severity, shedding, latency, immunity and susceptibility) data for these pathogens. Selection criteria for surrogates must be more specific and substantiated. Future work will include the development of a range of risk estimates using alternative approaches other than conventional dose-response statistics (e.g., Bayesian statistics). Infection dynamics modeling, human shedding and immune status will be considered in these re-defined assessments. The validity and precision of these assessment outcomes will be compared with traditional estimates using surrogate pathogens for which dose-response data are available.