A new report released by the United States government finds that the amounts of food born illnesses such as e. coli and salmonella are on the rise but other food born illnesses have leveled off.
The report states that although it appears that Listeria, Shigella, Campylobacter, and Yersinia are all food born bacterial infections that according to data gathered from 10 states have fallen in prevalence since the 90’s.
Unfortunately it appears that rates of e. coli and salmonella have raisen significantly, a fact that troubles health officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Julie Gerberding said,
As recent outbreaks have shown, too many people in the United States are getting sick each year from foodborne illnesses. We are also working to strengthen our ability to quickly detect and identify foodborne illnesses. We know the faster we can detect an outbreak, the faster we can take actions that will help protect people.
In 2006 the CDC identified over 17252 cases of food poisoning in the United States. They included 6,655 cases of Salmonella, 590 cases of E. coli O157, an additional 290 cases of other disease-causing strains of E. coli, 138 cases of Listeria and 41 cases of Cyclospora.
Infection with e. coli often leads to bloody diarrhea, and occasionally to kidney failure. People can become infected with e. coli in a variety of ways. Though most illness has been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef, people have also become ill from eating contaminated bean sprouts or fresh leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach.
People can reduce their risk for foodborne illness by following some safety tips –
1.Clean your hands, cutting boards, knives, sponges, and countertops often. Fruits and vegetables should be washed well.
2.Keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood and their juices away from other foods. Drink only pasteurized milk, juice, or cider.
3.Cook foods to proper temperatures.
4.Refrigerate foods.
The report published in this week’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (April 13, 2007) and is available online at www.cdc.gov/mmwr.
Via : MSNBC.com