Horny college students told to wear surgical masks when kissing to reduce risk of swine flu
Is grinding an effective form of birth control? Are condoms recommended during oral sex? Should horny college students kiss while wearing surgical masks to reduce incidence of swine flu?
In what should provide a stimulus to the sexy doctor/nurse outfit industry, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control yesterday issued advice suggesting that if college students are ill, they should refrain from kissing but, if they must, wear a surgical mask while doing the deed.
Substitute the word condom for mask in the following excerpts from the story; makes it fun.
The recommendation reads, "If close contact with others cannot be avoided, the ill student should be asked to wear a surgical mask during the period of contact. Examples of close contact include kissing, sharing eating or drinking utensils, or having any other contact between persons likely to result in exposure to respiratory droplets."
CDC spokesperson Tom Skinner acknowledged that the language of the recommendation was confusing and that the agency would "look at rewording" the guidance.
"We're not telling them to wear a mask when they kiss," Skinner said. "What we're trying to do is give examples of 'close contact.'"
We’ll stick with our advice, below.
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Local food is not inherently safer food
The idea that food grown and consumed locally is somehow safer than other food, either because it contacts fewer hands or any outbreaks would be contained, is the product of wishful thinking.
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Barry Estabrook of Gourmet magazine is the latest to invoke the local is pure fantasy, writing,
“There is no doubt that our food-safety system is broken. But with the vast majority of disease outbreaks coming from industrial-scale operations, legislators should have fixed the problems there instead of targeting small, local businesses that were never part of the problem in the first place.”
As soon as someone says there’s “no doubt” I am filled with doubt about the quality of the statement that is about to follow.
Foodborne illness is vastly underreported -- it's known as the burden of reporting foodborne illness. Someone has to get sick enough to go to a doctor, go to a doctor that is bright enough to order the right test, live in a state that has the known foodborne illnesses as a reportable disease, and then it gets registered by the feds. For every known case of foodborne illness, there are 10 -300 other cases, depending on the severity of the bug.
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Most foodborne illness is never detected. It’s almost never the last meal someone ate, or whatever other mythologies are out there. A stool sample linked with some epidemiology or food testing is required to make associations with specific foods.
Newsweek has an excellent article this week about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and its Disease Detective Camp, where teenagers learn how to form a hypothesis about a disease outbreak and conduct an investigation. The key lies only partly in state-of-the-art technology. At least half the challenge is figuring out the right questions to ask. Who has contracted the disease? Where have they been? Why were they exposed to this pathogen?
Maybe the vast majority of foodborne outbreaks come from industrial-scale operations because the vast majority of food and meals is consumed from industrial-scale operations. To accurately compare local and other food, a database would have to somehow be constructed so that a comparison of illnesses on a per capita meal or even ingredient basis could be made.
Killer cows
Cows can be dangerous.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported last week that from 2003-2007, cattle were the primary or secondary cause of death for 108 people.
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During the same period, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska accounted for 16% of the nation's approximately 985,000 cattle operations and 21% of the nation's cattle and calf herd.
To better characterize cattle-caused deaths in these four states, investigators reviewed all such deaths occurring during the period 2003--2008 that were detected by two surveillance programs, the Iowa Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (IA FACE) and the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health (GPCAH). This report summarizes that investigation, which identified 21 cattle-related deaths. These deaths occurred throughout the year, and decedents tended to be older (aged ≥60 years) (67%) and male (95%). Except in one case, the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head or chest. Circumstances associated with these deaths included working with cattle in enclosed areas (33%), moving or herding cattle (24%), loading (14%), and feeding (14%). One third of the deaths were caused by animals that had previously exhibited aggressive behavior.
To reduce the risk for death from cattle-caused injuries, farmers and ranchers should be aware of and follow recommended practices for safe livestock-handling facilities and proper precautions for working with cattle, especially cattle that have exhibited aggressiveness.
CDC speaks: Surveillance for U.S. foodborne disease outbreaks, 2006
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports in tomorrow’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that foodborne illnesses are a major health burden in the United States . Most of these illnesses are preventable, and analysis of outbreaks helps identify control measures. Although most cases are sporadic, investigation of the portion that occur as part of recognized outbreaks can provide insights into the pathogens, food vehicles, and food-handling practices associated with foodborne infections.
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In 2006, CDC reported 1,270 foodborne disease outbreaks (FBDOs) from all states and territories through the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (FBDSS), resulting in 27,634 cases of foodborne illness and 11 deaths. Among the 624 FBDOs with a confirmed etiology, norovirus was the most common cause, accounting for 54% of outbreaks and 11,879 cases, followed by Salmonella (18% of outbreaks and 3,252 cases). Among the 11 reported deaths, 10 were attributed to bacterial etiologies (six Escherichia coli O157:H7, two Listeria monocytogenes, one Salmonella serotype Enteritidis, and one Clostridium botulinum), and one was attributed to a chemical (mushroom toxin).
Among outbreaks caused by a single food vehicle, the most common food commodities to which outbreak-related cases were attributed were poultry (21%), leafy vegetables (17%), and fruits/nuts (16%). Public health professionals can use this information to 1) target control strategies for specific pathogens in particular foods along the farm-to-table continuum and 2) support good food-handling practices among restaurant workers and the public.
Social media spreads word on flu: CDC
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that a modest 2,500 people followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Twitter feed, CDCEmergency, when it was launched during the outbreak of Salmonella linked to Peanut Corp. of America products earlier this year. Now that the CDC is tweeting about the H1N1 flu (aka swine flu), over 100,000 members of the interested public are following.
In addition to the Twitter feed, CDC’s National Center for Health Marketing has responded to public demand for information with a Flickr photo stream, podcasts, videos and a Facebook page. These are the media familiar to today’s consumers.
The director of the National Center for Health Marketing, Dr. Jay Bernhardt, explained that the effectiveness of the agency’s communications through these media is dependent upon public trust, which is developed by speaking the audience’s language.
For example, Berhardt said of the CDC’s Tweets, “The social media team has learned to use a lot of exclamation points in these kinds of things.”
This lit review that I’ve been working on is full of evidence of the effectiveness of communicators that target an audience and then reach out to them with relevant, reliable, rapid and repeated information through the media they use every day.
The review also supports the evaluation of communication efforts to determine their effectiveness (and make changes, if necessary).
Polls by the Harvard School of Public Health have attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of the CDC’s efforts. And while direct observation of actual consumer behaviors would provide a more accurate evaluation, results of the consumer polls have been promising:
“[T]he poll shows that 67% of Americans are now washing their hands or using sanitizers more often, compared with 59% who said the same thing a week ago,” stated a report by MedPage.
“61% of respondents said they were not concerned that they or a family member would get the H1N1 flu within the next year. That's up from 53% who weren't worried a week ago.”
People can handle more information—not less—about the risks in their lives. Kudos to CDC.
FDA issues warning after 31 sick with Salmonella linked to sprouts
Maybe the folks at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are busy with swine flu, but the timing of the latest raw sprouts advisory is a bit wonky.
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Oh, and I’m to stress that it is only alfalfa sprouts making people barf, or at least that’s what industry told the FDA during a conference call yesterday afternoon. Not sure why it took FDA over 24 additional hours to warn consumers but …
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today recommended that consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts, including sprout blends containing alfalfa sprouts, until further notice because the product has been linked to Salmonella serotype Saintpaul contamination.
Other types of sprouts have not been implicated at this time.
The investigation indicates that the problem may be linked to contamination of seeds for alfalfa sprouts. Because suspect lots of seeds may be sold around the country and may account for a large proportion of the alfalfa seeds currently being used by sprout growers, and cases of illness are spread across multiple states, FDA and CDC are issuing this general advisory.
FDA will work with the alfalfa sprout industry to help identify which seeds and alfalfa sprouts are not connected with this contamination, so that this advisory can be changed as quickly as possible.
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CDC, FDA and six State and local authorities have associated this outbreak with eating raw alfalfa sprouts. Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia have reported 31 cases of illness with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul to CDC. Most of those who became ill reported eating raw alfalfa sprouts. Some reported eating raw sprouts at restaurants; others reported purchasing the raw sprouts at the retail level.
The CDC and FDA recommend at all times that persons at high risk for complications, such as the elderly, young children, and those with compromised immune systems, not eat raw sprouts because of the risk of contamination with Salmonella or other bacteria.
Chapman updated our chart of sprout-related outbreaks. It’s available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/en/article-details.php?a=2&c=6&sc=36&id=865
Efforts to reduce foodborne illness remain stalled; new approaches needed so fewer people barf
The Centers for Disease Control reported today that foodborne illness remains a significant public health issue in the United States, and that, “fundamental problems with bacterial and parasitic contamination are not being resolved.”
Douglas Powell, an associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University, says that more training, testing and inspecting is not the answer.
"There are way too many people getting sick," Powell said. "The CDC data show existing efforts to reduce foodborne illness have stalled. We need new messages using new media to really create a culture that values microbiologically safe food."
Powell publishes barfblog.com and conducts research on human food safety behavior from farm-to-fork. He can be reached by phone at 785-317-0560, or e-mail dpowell@k-state.edu.
His bio is at
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/powellbio.html
Obama wants Sebelius to seek out the science of health
Being that I’m living in the middle of Kansas, I just caught a live broadcast of President Obama announcing his nomination of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to the head of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Media sources emphasize that, as Secretary of HHS, Sebelius would be implementing the president’s plans for health care reform, along with Nancy-Ann DeParle – an American expert on health care issues and Obama’s pick for “Health Reform Czar”.
However, Obama pointed out in his announcement that it’s not all about health insurance; the position is also responsible for the oversight of several agencies that serve as protective forces, including the FDA and the CDC.
The president alluded to changes in that area of the department as well, and noted the importance of science over politics when determining the best approaches to protecting the health of Americans.
Sebelius will have her work cut out for her on many levels, so I hope she holds that mind: Keeping the poop out of food safety policy is a great way to keep poop out of food.
Tweeting about Food Safety
Do you remember how you first heard about the latest round of Salmonella in the peanut butter? Was it on the evening news, in the paper, or did you hear about it through Facebook or Twitter? If you’re in the under 30 crowd you might fit into the latter category. Social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are increasingly being utilized for up-to-the-minute recall information.
During the recent Salmonella outbreak, the United States Department of Health and Human Services - specifically the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - engaged in a heavy social media push to inform citizens about the health risks and product recalls. As a result, the CDC Social Media Center was created as a central hub for harnessing the power of social networking to spread recall information.
Twitter is one of the sites currently used in the assortment of links. Twitter allows users to “follow” one another’s “tweets” about what they do during the day. The website is on the rise among medical professionals and there are accounts for all ranges of industry available. Why not food safety?
Federal health agencies have been experimenting with new Internet tools, dubbed Web 2.0, that make it easier to deliver information directly to the public. The "Health 2.0" movement got a big boost with the arrival of President Barack Obama, who is pushing federal agencies to use the tools to make the federal government more transparent and participatory.
Current news about FDA recalls can be found @FDArecalls and public health updates from the CDC can be found @CDCemergency. The only snag is you have to sign up in order to receive tweets from the FDA, but hey, its free. After all, you’re no one if you’re not on Twitter.
FDA says peanut plant knowingly shipped Salmonella-tainted product
Michael Rogers of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told reporters on a conference call Tuesday that the Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Georgia, shipped out products that managers knew might be tainted with Salmonella.
"The team identified approximately 12 instances in 2007 and 2008 where the firm identified some type of salmonella ... and released the products."
Records at the plant showed that after the company tested the peanut products and found salmonella, it sent at least some to an outside lab that showed no contamination. The products were then illegally shipped for sale, Rogers said.
"There (were) no steps taken (by) the firm as far as cleaning or to minimize cross-contamination.”
An FDA inspection of the plant also found at least two strains of salmonella bacteria at the plant, although they were strains that have not been associated with the current outbreak.
Details of precisely what the FDA found will be released on Wednesday, he added.
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Source unknown in Salmonella outbreak
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says today it has not activated any emergency group and has not identified any food source in an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium that has been lab-confirmed in 388 cases in 42 states.
Apparently, that is driving Connecticut congresswoman Rosa DeLauro nuts, cause she said,
"Any delays in these critical investigations can sicken more people.”
Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety, sets things straight, noting that foodborne illness investigations can be very complicated, and it can take weeks or months for health officials to interview patients, find common links in what they ate, test suspected foods and come up with a clear-cut cause.
"There's a lot more to this than meets the eye.”
There is. And at some point, politicians like DeLauro may pack away the posturing and provide some support for public health folks trying to do their jobs.
CDC activates emergency group to find salmonella source
Elizabeth Weise of USA Today reports today that a single strain of Salmonella Typhimurium has sickened 336 people in 34 states, sending some to the hospital, over the past three months, but no one knows the source.
The outbreak led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to activate its emergency network this week, pulling in staff from other areas to work on the situation, says Frederick Angulo, deputy chief of enteric diseases.
"The lead hypothesis is chicken, but it's hard thing to prove. Everybody eats chicken," Angulo says.
Stop kissing turtles: 100 US kids sickened in new Salmonella outbreak
Growing up in late-1960s suburbia, my parents thought dogs should run on farms like their dogs had, and cats were a nuisance.
So I had a turtle.
Turtles were inexpensive, popular, and low maintenance, with an array of groovy pre-molded plastic housing designs to choose from. Invariably they would escape, only to be found days later behind the couch along with the skeleton of the class bunny my younger sister brought home from kindergarten one weekend.
But eventually, replacement turtles became harder to come by. Reports started surfacing that people with pet turtles were getting sick. In 1975, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned commercial distribution of turtles less than 4 inches in length, and it has been estimated that the FDA ban prevents some 100,000 cases of salmonellosis among children each year.
Maybe I got sick from my turtle.
Maybe I picked up my turtle, rolled around on the carpet with it, pet it a bit, and then stuck my finger in my mouth. Maybe in my emotionally vacant adolescence I kissed my turtle. Who can remember?
Last week the U.K. noted an increase in reptile-related Salmonella cases. Today, media outlets are reporting,
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A multi-state salmonella outbreak among people handling turtles, that includes California and Los Angeles County, was announced Tuesday by officials at the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health Veterinary Public Health.
Over 100 people, mostly children were infected by the same strain and 24 of them had to be hospitalized officials at the Center for Disease Control reported.
Eleven cases of the infection were reported in Southern California that included eight cases in Los Angeles County, officials at L.A. county Public Health reported.
Many human exposures were indirect. One baby became ill after being bathed in a sink where turtle feces had been discarded. Two girls fell ill after swimming in an un-chlorinated pool where turtles had been swimming.
Salmonella Saintpaul sickens nearly 1200
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Among the 828 persons with information available, illnesses began between April 10 and July 4, 2008, including 372 who became ill on June 1 or later. Many steps must occur between a person becoming ill and the determination that the illness was caused by the outbreak strain of Salmonella; these steps take an average of 2-3 weeks. Therefore, an illness reported today may have begun 2-3 weeks ago. Patients range in age from <1 to 99 years; 50% are female. The rate of illness is highest among persons 20 to 29 years old; the rate of illness is lowest in children 10 to 19 years old and in persons 80 or more years old. At least 224 persons were hospitalized. A man in his eighties who died in Texas from cardiopulmonary failure had an infection with the outbreak strain at the time of his death; the infection may have contributed to his death. A man in his sixties who died in Texas from cancer had an infection with the outbreak strain of at the time of his death; the infection may have contributed to his death.CDC is collaborating with public health officials in many states, the Indian Health Service, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate an ongoing multi-state outbreak of human Salmonella serotype Saintpaul infections. An initial epidemiologic investigation in New Mexico and Texas comparing foods eaten by persons who were ill in May to foods eaten by well persons identified consumption of raw tomatoes as strongly linked to illness. A similar but much larger, nationwide study comparing persons who were ill in June to well persons found that ill persons were more likely to have recently consumed raw tomatoes, fresh jalapeño peppers, and fresh cilantro. These items were commonly, though not always, consumed together, so that study could not determine which item(s) caused the illnesses.
Recently, many clusters of illnesses have been identified in several states among persons who ate at restaurants. Most clusters involve fewer than 5 ill persons. Three larger clusters have been intensively investigated. In one, illnesses were linked to consumption of an item containing fresh tomatoes and fresh jalapeño peppers. In the other two, illnesses were linked to an item containing fresh jalapeño peppers and no other of the suspect items. The accumulated data from all investigations indicate that jalapeño peppers caused some illnesses but that they do not explain all illnesses. Raw tomatoes, fresh serrano peppers, and fresh cilantro also remain under investigation. Investigators from many agencies are collaborating to track the source of the implicated peppers and other produce items.
Tomatoes with Salmonella saintpaul sicken 613 in 33 states
The marked increase in reported ill persons since the last update is not thought to be due to a large number of new infections. The number of reported ill persons increased mainly because some states improved surveillance for Salmonella in response to this outbreak and because laboratory identification of many previously submitted strains was completed. In particular, one new state, Massachusetts reported ill persons. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arkansas (3 persons), Arizona (34), California (8), Colorado (4), Connecticut (4), Florida (1), Georgia (14), Idaho (3), Illinois (45), Indiana (9), Kansas (9), Kentucky (1), Maryland (18), Massachusetts (12), Michigan (4), Missouri (12), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (1), New Mexico (79), New York (18), North Carolina (1), Ohio (3), Oklahoma (17), Oregon (5), Pennsylvania (5), Rhode Island (2), Tennessee (4), Texas (265), Utah (2), Virginia (21), Vermont (1), Washington (1), Wisconsin (5), and the District of Columbia (1). Among the 316 persons with information available, illnesses began between April 10 and June 13, 2008. Patients range in age from <1 to 99 years; 50% are female. At least 69 persons were hospitalized. No deaths have been officially attributed to this outbreak. However, a man in his sixties who died in Texas from cancer had an infection with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul at the time of his death. The infection may have contributed to his death.
CDC: Salmonella in tomato toll now at 167 in 17 states
At this time, FDA is advising U.S. consumers to limit their tomato consumption to those that are not the likely source of this outbreak. These include cherry tomatoes; grape tomatoes; tomatoes sold with the vine still attached; tomatoes grown at home; and raw red Roma, red plum, and round red tomatoes from specific sources listed at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html. Consumers should be aware that raw tomatoes are often used in the preparation of fresh salsa, guacamole, and pico de gallo, are part of fillings for tortillas, and are used in many other dishes.FDA recommends that U.S. retail outlets, restaurants, and food service operators offer only fresh and fresh cut red Roma, red plum, and round red tomatoes and food products made from these tomatoes from specific sources listed at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html#retailers. Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached from any source may be offered.
New strategies required to reduce foodborne illness says CDC; don't eat poop
"Although significant declines in the incidence of certain foodborne pathogens have occurred since 1996, these declines all occurred before 2004," the CDC reported (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5714a2.htm).
"Outbreaks caused by contaminated peanut butter, frozen pot pies, and a puffed vegetable snack in 2007 underscore the need to prevent contamination of commercially produced products. The outbreak associated with turtle exposure highlights the importance of animals as a nonfood source of human infections. To reduce the incidence of Salmonella infections, concerted efforts are needed throughout the food supply chain, from farm to processing plant to kitchen."
"Food safety is a continuing problem that starts at the farm and continues through the food chain all the way to the kitchen," Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of CDC's Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, said during a teleconference.
Given that rates of foodborne infection haven't changed significantly in the past three years, more needs to be done to improve food safety, Tauxe said "We have to be vigilant about hygiene practices and prevention all along the way to reduce the risk of foodborne infection."
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"There's just way too many sick people," said Dr. Douglas Powell, an associate professor and scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University." The CDC data show existing efforts to reduce fodborne illness have stalled," said Powell, who also publishes barfblog.com. "We need new messages using new media to really create a culture that values microbiologically safe food."
Pool poop
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Colorado is the latest U.S. Midwest state to track an increase in cryptosporidium infections. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said earlier this week about 50 cases were reported in August, more than four times the usual number.Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that cases of confirmed cryptosporidiosis increased from 3,505 for 2003 to 3,911 for 2004 and to 8,269 for 2005, a 111.4 per cent increase. The report makes excellent reading and contains solid advice.
