Outbreaks of E. Coli Off; Not so Salmonella
Posted on: Tuesday, 26 July 2005, 12:00 CDT
NEW ORLEANS - Federal disease detectives say they've seen a significant decline in rates of E. coli infections because of better testing of the meat supply, but they're making slow progress against contamination by drug-resistant strains of salmonella.
Robert Tauxe, chief of the foodborne-disease unit at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he's also concerned by increasing rates of contamination of shellfish - mainly raw oysters - from a bacterium called vibrio that can be lethal to people with chronic liver problems.
"There's been some real progress in the prevention of (food) pathogens," Tauxe told the annual convention of the Institute of Food Technologists here last week.
But he reported that disease detectives "are finding more salmonella than we should," and that more needs to be done in the meat-and-produce industry to combat the pathogen.
The CDC last year detected salmonella infections at the rate of 14.7 cases per 100,000 people - more than double the government's "healthy people" goal. There were similarly high rates of salmonella infections from 2000 to 2003.
Tauxe said the industry is responding to the problem, and he noted that this year, California's Almond Board is requiring that all nuts harvested be pasteurized after sporadic cases of salmonella were traced to raw almonds. Some 95 percent of the almond crop was already being treated through roasting or heating to kill the pathogen.
Tauxe said CDC disease detectives are also improving their ability to use genetic fingerprints to track the source of outbreaks.
He said fingerprinting was responsible for last year's breakthrough that allowed the CDC to match several outbreaks at Mexican and Italian restaurants in Pennsylvania to Roma tomatoes shipped from a Florida distributor. He recalled that CDC detectives looked at a similar salmonella outbreak in Indiana in 1992, but couldn't identify the food responsible.
How the Roma tomatoes became infected remains a mystery, Tauxe said. "It's an open question how they got contaminated."
Although salmonella is commonly associated with ground beef and poultry, there have been outbreaks traced to green onions and cantaloupe imported from Mexico, snow peas from Guatemala and alfalfa from Australia. About 6 percent of foodborne illness is associated with fresh produce, the CDC says.
Tauxe said government surveillance data shows that the meat industry has made improvements in averting outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7, a particularly virulent strain of the common pathogen that can attack the kidneys of young children and has killed some.
--------------------
On your guard
To minimize the risk of foodborne diseases, anyone handling produce or meat should follow the government's "Fight BAC" recommendations:
1. Clean: Wash hands and surfaces, and rinse fresh produce before using.
2. Separate: Keep meat, seafood and poultry separate from other foods. Don't chop vegetables on a cutting board after cutting meat.
3. Cook: Use a thermometer to ensure food is fully cooked.
4. Chill: Store foods at below 40 degrees.
- Scripps Howard News Service
--------------------
Source: Commercial Appeal, The
Related Articles
- CIFOR Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response Published by National Food Safety Group
- American Humane Certified to Launch Online Training of Humane Animal Care for Food Producers
- China to Focus on Small Food Producers
- Roundup: Disease Outbreaks Unmask Shortcomings of Harare City Councils
- Asia-Pacific to Stage Mock Disease Outbreak
- Air Conditioner Unit, Possible Source of Toronto Disease Outbreak: Officials
- Monitoring Over-The-Counter Medication Sales for Early Detection of Disease Outbreaks - New York City
- China Focus: Pig-Borne Disease Outbreak Rings Bell for Public Health Security in Rural Areas
- Augusta, Ga., Food Producer Plans to Add 200 Jobs
- Meeting the Challenge of Epidemic Infectious Disease Outbreaks: An Agenda for Research
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds