By investigating foodborne disease outbreaks, public health officials learn about problems in food production, distribution, and preparation that may lead to illness
, and they use this information to help control the ongoing outbreak and prevent future outbreaks.
Why is tracking food borne illnesses important?
Foodborne Disease Outbreaks
Finding the source of an outbreak is important
because the contaminated food could still be in stores, restaurants, or kitchens and could make more people sick
. You can help solve these outbreaks by providing vital clues to disease detectives.
What are the steps in foodborne outbreak investigations Why are they important to public health?
Health officials use three types of data to link illnesses to contaminated foods and solve outbreaks:
epidemiologic, traceback, and food and environmental testing
. Health officials assess all of these types of data together to try to find the likely source of the outbreak.
Who tracks foodborne illness outbreak?
The Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (FDOSS)
collects information from state and local health departments about foodborne disease outbreaks.
What is a foodborne disease outbreak and why do they occur?
A foodborne disease outbreak occurs
when two or more people get the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink
. Nearly all of the more than 250 agents known to cause foodborne illness can cause an outbreak.
What can be done to control and prevent foodborne illnesses?
- Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often.
- Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate.
- Cook: Cook to proper temperatures.
- Chill: Refrigerate promptly.
How does the CDC define an outbreak of foodborne illness?
A foodborne disease outbreak is defined as
an incident in which two or more persons experience a similar illness resulting from the ingestion of a common food
.* Foodborne disease outbreaks should be reported to CDC’s Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch through the National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS).**
How does the CDC affect the food supply?
CDC helps make food safer by:
Working with partners to determine the major sources of foodborne illnesses and annual changes in the number of illnesses, investigate multistate foodborne disease outbreaks, and implement systems to better prevent illnesses and detect and stop outbreaks.
When does foodborne illness occur?
Foodborne illness is caused by
consuming contaminated foods or beverages
. Many different disease-causing microbes or pathogens can contaminate foods, so there are many different types of foodborne illnesses. Most foodborne diseases are infections caused by a variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
How does the CDC investigate an outbreak?
One of CDC’s most important disease surveillance systems is PulseNet, the national laboratory network that monitors illnesses caused by bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria.
PulseNet uses DNA fingerprinting of the bacteria making people sick to detect possible outbreaks
.
What are the procedures that a local health department might use for investigating an outbreak of foodborne illness?
During an investigation, health officials collect three types of data:
epidemiologic, traceback, and food and environmental testing
. Health officials assess all of these types of data together to try to find the likely source of the outbreak.
What are communicable disease responsibilities of public health departments?
Preventing the spread of infectious disease means preventing diseases that are caused by infectious agents, such as by
detecting acute infectious diseases, assuring the reporting of infectious diseases, preventing the transmission of disease, and implementing control measures during infectious disease outbreaks
.
What is your role as a public health specialist in outbreaks of food poisoning?
The Role of Doctors in Food Poisoning
Healthcare providers can
identify and diagnose an infected individual when that individual seeks medical attention
. Physicians order tests and laboratories will use applicable procedures to determine exactly what pathogen has caused the illness.
What are the 5 most common causes of foodborne illness?
- Food from unsafe sources.
- Inadequate cooking.
- Improper hot/cold holding temperatures.
- Contaminated equipment.
- Poor personal hygiene.
Why are outbreaks of foodborne illness high?
Other important factors that contributed to foodborne outbreaks were the lapse of a day or more between preparing and serving (coupled with inadequate refrigeration or hot-holding during this time), handling of cooked foods by infected persons, inadequate cooking or other thermal processing, inadequately high …
What is the most important way to prevent foodborne illnesses caused by viruses?
1 All pathogens need oxygen to grow. 2 The most important way to prevent foodborne illnesses caused by viruses is to
control time and temperature
.
What are the primary approaches to prevention of foodborne illness?
Following four simple steps—
clean, separate, cook, and chill
—can help protect you from food poisoning. Learn which foods are associated with food poisoning: raw or undercooked meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables, raw or lightly cooked eggs, unpasteurized (raw) milk, and raw shellfish.
What is the most important way to prevent a foodborne illness caused by bacteria?
The single most important thing you can do to prevent foodborne illness is to
wash your hands
—frequently, and especially after using the toilet, changing a diaper, petting an ani- mal, and before preparing or eating food.
How does foodborne illness affect the economy?
ERS has analyzed the economic burden of the 15 pathogens responsible for 95 percent of the 9.4 million episodes of foodborne illness for which a pathogen cause can be identified. ERS estimates that these 15 pathogens impose
$15.5 billion in economic burden annually
.
What is the role of the Centers for disease Control and Prevention?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborates to
create the expertise, information, and tools that people and communities need to protect their health through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability, and preparedness for new health threats
.
What is the purpose of the CDC?
CDC works 24/7
to protect America from health, safety and security threats
, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.
How does the USDA affect the food supply?
And USDA is involved in managing those changes as related to many areas of food processing and food distribution. From the
inspection of domestic product, imports, and exports; conducting risk assessments; and educating the public about the importance of food safety
, USDA is there.
