According to Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network’s report on foodborne illness in 2013, clinical laboratories used culture-independent diagnostic tests (CIDTs) to detect more than 20,000 infections. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has delved deeper into the data collected about these tests. 
CIDTs are attractive to
Continue Reading Culture-Independent Diagnostics Most Common for Campylobacter, STEC
How CDC Uses Antibiotic Resistance Data
Over the past year, you may have noticed that antimicrobial resistance information has been incorporated in the outbreak reports put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency recently introduced the measure to address the goal of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) to get
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FoodNet Report: Pathogen Infection Rates Still ‘Well Above’ Government Targets
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its latest report card on the trends in foodborne illnesses on Thursday, and, in general, not much has changed from previous years. According to the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), there were a total of 19,056 infections, 4,200 hospitalizations and
Continue Reading FoodNet Report: Pathogen Infection Rates Still ‘Well Above’ Government Targets
Outbreak Case Counts: Why Official Numbers Fall Far Below Estimates
When news broke this past fall of two separate Salmonella outbreaks tied to Foster Farms chicken, one of the most noteworthy aspects of each outbreak was the number of patients sickened. To date, the outbreaks have been connected to 615 reported Salmonella infections altogether, making Foster Farms chicken the largest
Continue Reading Outbreak Case Counts: Why Official Numbers Fall Far Below Estimates
Children More Likely To Be Sickened by Foodborne Illness
Foodborne bacteria cause more illnesses among children than adults, according to new estimates. A study published this week in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal finds that children less than five years old fall ill from intestinal bacteria originating in food more often than adults. Researchers looked at the incidence of
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FoodNet Shares Lessons From More Than a Decade of Data
Numbers are usually called trends after a year. After more than a decade, numbers can point up real problems or they just become more interesting.
That may be why FoodNet, the collaborative 10-state surveillance program, took a step back
from its annual “Vital Signs” report to fill an entire
Continue Reading FoodNet Shares Lessons From More Than a Decade of Data
Salmonella, Listeria Top List of Foodborne Killers
Salmonella and Listeria continue to be the leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States, according to a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
The statistics come from an analysis of FoodNet data from 1996 to 2005. FoodNet is a Centers for Disease Control
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E. coli O157 Recedes, Salmonella on Rise in U.S.
While the United States has made progress in keeping E. coli O157:H7 at bay in the food supply, it hasn’t made much headway in combating Salmonella, health officials said Tuesday.
And another front has opened as well: For the first time, the number of people infected with various strains of
Continue Reading E. coli O157 Recedes, Salmonella on Rise in U.S.