According to the February 3, 2015, issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported the first cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (HPAI) in wild or domestic birds found in the United States. Of the 14 recorded incidents, seven were associated with H5N2, six with H5N8 and one with H5N1. The detections occurred in the northwestern states of California, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Washington and involved five domestic “backyard” flocks, two captive wild birds and seven wild aquatic birds. “Until more is known about these viruses, CDC is taking a cautious approach, and recommendations are largely consistent with guidance for influenza viruses associated with severe diseases in humans,” notes CDC. “State health departments are encouraged to investigate all possible human infections with HPAI H5 virus and should notify CDC promptly when testing for influenza in…
Tag Archives CDC
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, Food and Drug Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are hosting a February 24, 2015, public meeting in Washington, D.C., to update stakeholders and solicit input about the agencies’ collaborative initiatives to improve foodborne illness source attribution. The discussion will target the agencies’ effort to develop a single approach to creating harmonized foodborne illness source attribution estimates from outbreak data for Salmonella, E. coli O157, Listeria, and Campylobacter. Those interested in attending the meeting should register online by February 17. See Federal Register, January 28, 2015. Issue 553
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a September 2014 Vital Signs report claiming that nine in 10 U.S. children “eat more sodium than recommended.” Noting that children ages 6-18 years consume an average of 3,300 mg sodium per day, CDC estimates that 43 percent of children’s daily sodium intake “comes from just 10 common food types: pizza; bread and rolls; cold cuts and cured meats; sandwiches like cheeseburgers; snacks, such as chips; cheese; chicken patties, nuggets, and tenders; pasta mixed dishes, such as spaghetti with sauce; Mexican mixed dishes, such as burritos and tacos; and soup.” The agency is urging the federal government to apply new nutrition standards that aim to halve the sodium content of some foods served in schools by 2022. It also asks food manufacturers to replace sodium “with alternatives like spices, herbs, and vegetables,” and to gradually reduce the sodium content of…
Recent legislation (S.B. 2718) introduced by U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) has called for energy drink guidelines as part of a wider initiative to ensure children’s safety in athletics. According to a September 8, 2014, press release, the Supporting Athletes, Families and Educators to Protect the Lives of Athletic Youth Act (SAFE PLAY Act) combines previous legislative efforts to address “concussions, cardiac arrests, heat-related illness, and consumption of energy drinks.” The bill would require the Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to (i) “develop information about the ingredients used in energy drinks and the potential side effects of energy drink consumption,” and (ii) “recommend guidelines for the safe use of energy drink consumption by youth, including youth participating in athletic activities.” Although the proposed guidelines would cover all liquid dietary supplements and…
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund has published a white paper titled “Ending the Overuse of Antibiotics in Livestock Production: The Case for Reform.” Contending that the use of antibiotics in healthy animals to accelerate their growth or “prevent disease caused by unhealthy and unsanitary conditions” has accelerated the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the paper calls on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act immediately to restrict the use of antibiotics in livestock production. According to the consumer-interest group’s paper, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that some 2 million Americans are sickened each year by drug-resistant bacteria, and of those, 23,000 die. The paper also states that more than “70% of antibiotics in classes used in human medicine are sold for use in food animals.” FDA data reportedly indicate that in 2011, 29.9 million pounds of antibiotics were sold in the…
In a unanimous vote, the California Senate has voted to repeal a new provision in the health code requiring restaurant workers to wear gloves when handling food. The provision took effect in January 2014 throughout California with a compliance grace period set to end in July 2014. The measure was intended to curb foodborne illness, but restaurant industry workers petitioned to repeal the provision, arguing that hand washing is as effective as wearing gloves without the added financial or environmental cost. They also suggested that gloves would add a false sense of security because, according to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gloved workers were less likely than ungloved workers to wash their hands when they should. Assemblyman Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), author of the bill to repeal the provision, was quoted as saying, “It is the industry standard in restaurants to prioritize cleanliness when handling food,…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a report that attributes the loss of approximately 2.5 million years of potential life, one in 10 deaths of working-aged adults and $223.5 billion in health-care and productivity costs annually to excessive drinking. The study examined data from CDC’s Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application for 2006 to 2010 to calculate the number of deaths that could be attributed to alcohol based on a list of 54 alcohol-related causes, including immediate deaths due to, for example, alcohol poisoning, as well as deaths from alcohol-related diseases like liver cirrhosis. The researchers focused especially on excessive alcohol use, defined as binge drinking (on a per-occasion standard), heavy drinking (on a drinks-per-week standard), pregnant drinking, and drinking by minors. “This analysis illustrates the magnitude and variability of the health consequences of excessive alcohol consumption in the United States,” the researchers conclude. "More widespread implementation of…
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has reportedly partnered with the restaurant review website Yelp to help health officials discover foodborne illness outbreaks and the restaurants allegedly responsible for them. While investigating an outbreak of gastrointestinal disease associated with a particular restaurant, DOHMH officials had apparently noted that patrons had reported illnesses on Yelp that had not been reported to DOHMH. To explore the potential of using Yelp to identify unreported outbreaks, DOHMH then collaborated with Columbia University and Yelp on a pilot project to identify restaurant reviews on Yelp that referred to foodborne illness. Researchers analyzed approximately 294,000 Yelp restaurant reviews from July 2012 to March 2013, using a software program developed specifically for the project. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published a report detailing the project, the program identified 893 reviews that required further evaluation by a foodborne…
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a request for comments on Chapter 6 and a new section of Chapter 8 of its draft document, “Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione.” Details about diacetyl, a butter-flavoring chemical used in baked goods and microwave popcorn, and pentanedione, a flavoring agent, appear in Issue 403 of this Update. Comments will be accepted until February 10, 2014. See Federal Register, December 26, 2013. Issue 509
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a report examining the impact of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on human health. Titled Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013, the report categorizes bacterial strains as either urgent threats, serious threats or concerning threats according to their clinical and economic impacts, incidence, 10-year projection of incidence, transmissibility, availability of effective antibiotics, and barriers to prevention. Among the bacteria identified by CDC as serious threats are drug-resistant Campylobacter, drug-resistant non-typhoidal Salmonella, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and drug resistant tuberculosis. In particular, the agency has noted that the “use of antibiotics in foodproducing animals allows antibiotic-resistant bacteria to thrive while susceptible bacteria are suppressed or die.” Warning that “much of antibiotic use in animals is unnecessary and inappropriate and makes everyone less safe,” the report highlights CDC’s work with the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture to monitor trends in antibiotic resistance…
