Publisher’s Platform: MMWR – Food for Thought

Several years ago I started following the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).  It used to come weekly in the mail (perhaps it still does), but it is a bit easier to see it online and it can be quickly downloaded.  Given my profession, I tend to quickly pass over some of the other notifiable diseases like Babesiosis and Psittacosis, but several others perk my interest.  Here is this week’s MMWR summary in the USA of those things generally food related:  Botulism – Luckily none this week and only seven this year.  There were twenty-four in 2011.  Listeria – Nine this week and 287 this year.  There were 870 in 2011 (we all recall cantaloupe).  Hepatitis A – Eleven this week and 755 this year.  There were 739 in 2011 (we should all get vaccines).  Salmonella – 582 this week and 20,371 this year.  There were 24,366 in 2011.  Shiga Toxin E. coli – Fifty-four this week and 2,295 this year.  There were 2,842 in 2011.  Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) was seen three times this week and seventy-five times so far this year.  There were 290 cases in 2011 (a good trend this year).  Shigella – 142 this week and 6,619 this year.  There were 6,424 in 2011 (not on pace for a positive 2012).  Say, CDC, what about Campylobacter, Norovirus?  For more information on Food Safety, keep current at Food Safety News. If you want to know too much about food poisoning, see Foodborne Illness dot com. And for complications, see Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Reactive Arthritis.