martes, 11 de febrero de 2014

CDC Food Safety News: Jan-Feb 2014

CDC Food Safety News: Jan-Feb 2014



CDC & Food Safety

=============

New reports, publications, and web material

January - February  2014



Screen capture from Medscape slideshow, "Risks from Pets and Pet Food," depicting baby hedgehog, chick, and duckling

CDC and Medscape: A Partnership that Delivers

Healthcare content delivered to 100,00+  viewers

Launched during 2009’s H1N1 flu pandemic, Medscape and CDC teamed to deliver timely information and education to medical professionals using the Internet. Since then, their partnership has blossomed. CDC Expert Commentaries attracts thousands of clinician views with each new weekly posting. 
What started with one "test" video commentary has blossomed into a robust content partnership that now includes: video commentaries, text commentaries, Q&A expert interviews, slide shows, targeted mailers, one-on-one interviews, and peer-to-peer discussions.
To date, CDC and Medscape have partnered to produce:
  • 170+ video and text commentaries
  • 1.8 million views of interviews
  • 100,000+ views of slideshows
The CDC Expert Commentary series includes participants from every CDC Center as well as CDC partners: Dr. Regina Benjamin, US Surgeon General, HHSDr. Neil Fishman, SHEA; and Dr. William Schaffner, IDSA.
Medscape commentaries for CDC's Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases comprise almost one-third of total Medscape views and include content from all Divison topic areas: food safety, healthy water, fungus, and healthy pets and people. 
CDC's enteric disease experts provide food-related commentaries on topics ranging from specific pathogens to major outbreaks, as well as tips for Healthy Pets, Healthy People. The table below highlights select food-safety commentaries from 2012 to the present. More food safety commentaries will be produced during 2014.
CDC Expert Commentaries on Medscape on Food Safety for 2012 - 2014

=============

Select CDC Food Safety Publications

Key CDC publications during January-February include:


Encyclopedia of Food Safety, Volume 4, 2014
Surveillance of Foodborne Diseases
Food safety experts, Dr. Rob Tauxe and Dr. John Besser, examine the limitations, uses, and future of surveillance in public health for the Encyclopedia of Food Safety, Volume 4.
Salmonella
After receiving reports of gastrointestinal illness from attendees at a church festival, the local health department investigated and confirmed a foodborne outbreak linked to pulled pork prepared in a private home and sold at the event.
Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium
In this study, the authors examined whether the characterization of blaCMY plasmids, along with additional information, can help to identify potential sources of infection by Salmonella, and used serotype Typhimurium as a model.
Non-O157 STEC
Two publications document outbreaks and infections of non-O157 Shiga toxin-producingEsherichia coli.

=============
Photo showing Tyson Chickens logo with live chicken in foreground

Outbreaks!

CDC tracked several multistate outbreaks of foodborne illness during January and February, including:
As of January 24, Tennessee reported nine cases to CDC.  Tyson Brand initiated a recall of approximately 33,840 pounds of mechanically-separated chicken products, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced. This outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg infections is not related to the multistate outbreak of multidrug-resistant SalmonellaHeidelberg infections linked to Foster Farms brand chicken.

Photo showing cashew cheese and individual cashew nuts
As of January 31, California (15), Nevada (1), and Wyoming (1) reported 17 illnesses to CDC. The Cultured Kitchen, producers of the raw cashew cheese, issued a voluntarily recall due to a risk of contamination with Salmonella.

Timeline of events for Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to Foster Farms brand chicken
Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg Infections Linked to Foster Farms Brand Chicken  (outbreak appears to be over; however, investigation continues)
The number of reported infections from the outbreak strains ofSalmonella Heidelberg has returned to baseline levels indicating that this particular outbreak appears to be over. But, not before 23 states and Puerto Rico reported 430 illnesses to CDC. California reported the most illnesses (74%).
=============

New Web Resources

Year-Round Food Safe Buffets

Every year, Americans have a food fest on Super Bowl Sunday. And, for many, that means hosting a buffet for friends and family. But any gathering at any time of the year can be an opportunity to share food--and, unfortunately, food poisoning, Make sure that germs are a "no-show" at your next buffet by following these six tips to avoid food poisoning. (Download ourinfographic for your kitchen as a reminder of preparing food-safe buffets.)
  • Shout-out to our partners at Pew Charitable Trust for their Superbug Showdowninfographic pitting Team Antibiotic against Team Superbug. And, a nod of the hat to FDA for their feature on Serving up Safe Buffets. Check them both out!
Infographic: Blow the whistle on antibiotic overuse!

Public Health Practices
CDC has released the 2013 Prevention Status Reports (PSRs) highlighting the status of state-level policies and practices designed to prevent 10 important public health problems, including Food Safety.

Screen capture from CDC.gov showing feature article: You Can Help CDC Detect and Solve Foodborne Outbreaks
Assisting the Disease Detectives
Did you know you can help disease detectives detect and solve foodborne disease outbreaks? Learn some ways you can help protect others from getting sick. You Can Help CDC Detect and Solve Foodborne Outbreaks.


The 2013-2014 National Snapshot of Public Health Preparedness
We Are Better Prepared!
The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) reports several success stories that highlight states' preparedness.
Prepared by CDC's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, the National Snapshot of Public Health Preparedness covers activities between 2012 and 2013 and notes improvements for tracking and reporting E.coli and Listeria.
  • Escherichia coli-positive tests analyzed and entered into PulseNet increased within four working days from 90% to 94%.
  • More timely testing and reporting of Listeria-positive results from 88% to 92%.

Medscape Update to Pets and Pet Food Slideshow.
An update is now available to the Risks from Pets and Pet Food slideshow featuring information on outbreak investigations in 2012 and 2013.
=============
Ad for Best Food Facts Trans Fat Webcast

Food Safety Partners

Healthy and Safe Foods

Trans Fats: Moving Off the Label WebcastTue, Feb 11, 2014 2:00 PM CST
Join BestFoodFacts.org for a webcast that will break down the confusion about trans fats with straight talk and humor from four food system professionals who love to talk about food.
Photo of stacked hands representating partnership

Progress toward Attribution of Foodborne Illness

The Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC) recently held its second webinar to discuss progress toward attributing foodborne illnesses to food sources. The tri-agency collaboration (FDA, CDC, and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service) also discussed the group's most recent activities.
Presenters shared an analysis comparing the characteristics of illnesses associated with foodborne outbreaks with those that are not linked to outbreaks.
Information on the first webinar is now available online. Information on the second webinar will be posted soon.

Screen capture from CDC web page on Listeria and Advanced Molecular Detection
 Listeria & Advanced Molecular Detection Work: One of CDC's 2013 Accomplishments
Digital Press Kit highlighting 2013 accomplishments, including work on Listeria & Advanced Molecular Detection, has been updated with details about our important collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
Coordinating Crisis Response: FDA’s Joint Information Center (JIC) Handbook is now available. The handbook, that augments the FDA Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), enhances the agency’s ability to coordinate public communication during emergency responses.

No hay comentarios: