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Show Infectious Diseases Foodborne llness Compiled by Donna D. Cooper, MS, LEHS 2001 Utah Confirmed Cases of Foodborne Illness: 648 The most common foodborne illnesses are caused by the bacteria Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli 0157:H7. and by a group of viruses known as calicivirus or the Norwalk and Norwalk-like viruses. Because of their short duration and frequently self-resolving nature, foodborne diseases are some of the most under-reported and incompletely diagnosed illnesses of our time. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that in the U.S. foodborne diseases are responsible for approximately 76 million illnesses, 60,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually. Most people recover completely from foodborne illnesses, but the very young, the very old, people exposed to a high dose of the organism and the immuno-compromised may not recover. Between 1992 and 1996, the number of confirmed cases of foodborne disease in Utah climbed steadily (Table 1). After peaking at 2,177 cases in 1996, however, the number of cases of foodborne illnesses has been on the decline, with only 648 confirmed in 2001. Together, Campylobacter and Salmonella were responsible for about 70% of all foodborne illnesses in Utah in 2001. The CDC consider bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods to be the primary vehicle of food contamination. If handling food without proper hand washing and the use of gloves, food workers may transfer pathogens from other contaminated foods or surfaces, or from their own gastrointestinal tracts. Removing viruses with normal hand washing is very difficult, so food workers' use of gloves is mandated in many states. In Utah, food workers are required to minimize bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food. For more information on foodborne disease, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/. Table 1. Number of Confirmed Foodborne Illnesses by Cause, Utah, 1992-2001. Disease 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Botulism 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Campylobacter 158 169 205 214 243 222 209 188 246 228 E. coli non-0157 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 15 24 35 26 E.coli0157:H7 19 14 24 29 29 57 75 35 50 34 Listeriosis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 2 Norovirus n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Salmonellosis 159 154 202 280 525 271 355 570 487 229 Shigellosis 186 42 240 764 307 101 48 66 82 63 Total 522 379 671 1287 1104 651 702 889 904 582 Sources: Utah Department of Health, Annual Morbidity Reports, Division of Epidemiology and Laboratory Services. Mead, P.S., Slutsker. L., Dietz, V., McCraig, L.F., Brisee, J.S., Shapiro, C, Griffin, P.M., Tauce, R.V., September-October, 1999. Food-Related Illness and Death in the United States. Emerging Infectious Diseases. Vol. 5, No. 5, pp 1-37 [Online] hap://wvv\v,cdc.£:ov/ncidod;]:iID9vol5no5/Riead.Mm (retrieved 6/25/03). Salt Lake Valley Health Department, Bureau of Food Protection. 90 Utah's Health: An Annual Review Volume LX |
