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Fewer salmonella infections, but no E. coli decline
Sunday, April 08, 2001 By Lee Bowman, Scripps Howard News Service
The government's network for tracking food-borne illnesses shows that some initiatives -- particularly involving eggs -- may be paying off with fewer salmonella infections, but there's been no decline in dangerous E. coli infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released preliminary data on food-borne illnesses last year from a surveillance network covering eight states.
FoodNet is a joint effort by federal heath and agriculture agencies and state health departments to track people diagnosed with infections that are likely to be transmitted by contaminated food. The system has been following illnesses in some states since 1996.
While campylobacter and salmonella infections are still the most commonly diagnosed pathogens -- accounting for about two-thirds of more than 12,000 lab-confirmed cases -- the incidence of both diseases continues to decline.
Campylobacter is usually associated with raw or undercooked poultry and takes two to five days to make people ill; salmonella incubates in one to three days and can be found in a variety of food products. Both produce abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever and vomiting. The disease centers suggested that the declines may be due in part to new safety regulations for meat and poultry and improved agricultural practices for handling produce. The report noted that cases of salmonella enteritis, a strain often associated with eggs, have declined substantially since 1996.
"This continued decline may be due to improved hygiene on egg-laying hen farms, improvements in keeping eggs refrigerated during transport and distribution, increased use of pasteurized eggs and improved cooking and handling of eggs in retail establishments and institutions," the disease centers said in a statement.
The lack of a discernible decrease in E. coli infections, despite heightened awareness, probably reflects both enhanced surveillance and the many ways the infection can be spread.
"Although ground beef is the major food that transmits this infection, many other foods -- including sprouts, lettuce and unpasteurized juice -- can also transmit this disease," the agency said.
The bacteria can be spread through water, from child to child in day-care centers and even through direct contact between people and cattle, either on farms or petting zoos.
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