Illness due to E. coli O157:H7 down significantly report says
by Daniel Sullivan, Manager, Issues Response, National Cattlemen's Beef Association
Highlights
Foodborne illnesses remain a significant burden on public health in the United States.
America’s beef community remains dedicated to producing the safest food supply in the world through improved science-based prevention interventions, especially in the case of E. coli O157:H7, for which reported cases of the infection continue to decline.
E. coli O157:H7 has declined significantly and is the only one of the nine infections tracked to reach the 2010 national health objective target of less than one case per 100,000 people.
Overall, infections caused by key pathogens (including Campylobacter, Listeria, Shigella, Yersinia and E. coli) were 23 percent lower in 2010 compared with laboratory-confirmed infetions from 1996-1998.
From 1994 through 2011, cattlemen have invested more than $30 million of their beef checkoff dollars to beef safety research and outreach efforts. In addition, the beef community as a whole invests an estimated $550 million yearly, to implement, maintain and validate safety controls and conduct product testing.
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Introduction
Foodborne diseases are a burden on public health in the United States and their reduction has been a longstanding priority of the beef community. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), contaminated food causes approximately 1,000 reported disease outbreaks and an estimated 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths annually. Salmonella, is the most common pathogen associated with each infection, causing 4,247 hospitalizations and 68 deaths. The U.S. food supply continues to change with increased centralization of production, global sourcing of ingredients and a growing number of meals prepared outside of the home. Efforts to identify and implement solutions to long-standing food safety problems has been relatively slow, when compared to the centralization of the food supply. However, Escherichia coli O157:H7, the pathogen most often associated with beef consumption, has seen a dramatic reduction in illness occurrence contributing to meeting key public health targets.
Discussion
The Foodborne Diesease Active Surveillence Network (FoodNet) is responsible for documenting trends in foodborne illnesses, which is an essential step in the goal of reducing overall incidences. Every year, FoodNet releases a report card illustrating for the CDC, policy makers and partners the progress being made in reaching national goals for reducing foodborne illnesses.
This year’s report, which summariazes data from 2010, highlights that E. coli O157:H7 illnesses have declined significantly and is the only one out of the nine infections tracked to reach the 2010 national health objective target of less than one case per 100,000 people. (Figure 1)
The reduction of confirmed E. coli O157:H7 cases, a 44 percent decrease overall since 1996-1998, can be attributed to a variety of factors, one of them being improved sampling and lotting procedures, which allows processors to more effectively control contaminated product. The 44 percent decrease is reprersentative of E. coli cases from all foods, but the improvements made within the beef community such as implementation of saftey interventions and improved microbial testing methods played a part in contributing to the decrease.
Another likley contributer to the reduction of
E. coli O157:H7 is increased consumer awareness of their role in food safety. Through checkoff research and awareness campaigns like Safe and Savory at 160, as well as the Beef Industry Safety Summit, which is partially funded by the Beef Checkoff, the beef community has been recognized by the government for taking a proactive approach to food safety issues. Because of this the beef community’s efforts are often pointed to as a model for other commodities. These efforts in research and industry implementation of safety interventions plays a key role in the reduction of potential foodborne illnesses from beef, which in turn helps reduce the overall occurence of illness in all food, as illustrated by these recent numbers.
Overall, infections caused by six key pathogens (including Campylobacter, Listeria, Shigella, Yersinia and E. coli) were 23 percent lower in 2010 compared with laboratory-confirmed infetions from 1996-1998. (Figure 2, see next page)
Conclusions
From 1994 through 2011, cattlemen have invested more than $30 million of their beef checkoff dollars to beef safety efforts. In addition, the beef community as a whole invests an estimated $550 million yearly, to implement, maintain and validate safety controls and conduct product testing. This commitment to tackling food safety challenges through science-based intervention strategies continues to play a part in decreasing the occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 in food.
Figure 2: Relative rates of laboratory-confirmed infections with, E.coli O157,
Listeria, Salmonella, and Vibrio, compared with 1996-1998 rates, by year**
Foodborne Disease Active Surveillance Network, United States, 1996-2010* |
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