E. coli Outbreak Detection Lacking in Half of States
When it comes to detecting and reporting outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 and other pathogens, some state health departments are better than others.
What else could explain the large discrepancy in state by state reporting results? It’s not that certain borders are immune from bacteria.
Now there’s a study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) that attempts to quantify the problem, saying that at least 23 states need to improve outbreak reporting. Nationally, public health protection against outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 and other foodborne illness provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is only as good as the reporting network of states.
CSPI’s study looked at 2007 outbreak data and used health deparments in Oregon and Minnesota as a baseline because they have excellent laboratory facilities and strict regiments for quickly interviewing subjects of food poisoning. Each state reported 10 outbreaks per million people in 2007.
According to the study, seven states had even better reporting records in 2007, including Maine, Kansas, Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, Hawaii and North Dakota. Those states generated more reports and provided CDC with better information to prevent future outbreaks.
On the other end of the spectrum, twelve states reported just one outbreak of foodborne illness per million people, and 11 states had reporting rates almost as low.
The 23 states with the lowest reporting rates in 2007 were Delaware, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts, each with three outbreaks per million; Missouri, New Jersey, Virginia, Alabama, West Virginia, and Kentucky, each with two outbreaks per million; and Texas, North Carolina, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, Utah, Arkansas, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, each reporting just one outbreak per million.
Tags: E. coli Outbreak, HUS outbreak
