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Continued from page 472 followed up with PCR, which is being condensed into field tests costing $50 (3). Framework for bioterrorism surveillance Because of its nearly instantaneous data-collection and microbiological analysis capabilities, the system I’m proposing will even be capable of detecting a bioterrorism attack, most obviously by strengthening existing surveillance systems. An existing emergency detection system in California (9) collects weather alerts, natural disaster information, and other official warnings, potentially even 911 calls, into a common database, then makes them available to subscribers. My system could generate an automatic warning when a threshold number of Web users report similar symptoms, such as those associated with the prodromal period for smallpox, at the same time in a given locale. Cases would be able to see the number and location of other cases. This proposed surveillance system is intended to supplement, not replace, existing systems such as Food Net and the official reporting systems. But I believe this proposal is the future of foodborne and environmental disease surveillance. REFERENCES 1. Engstrand, L. and H. Enroth. 1995. Immunomagnetic separation and PCR for detection of Helicobacter pylori in water and stool specimens. J. Clin. Microbiol. 33:2162–2165. 2. Goetz, T. 2006. The thin pill. Wired 14(10):152–157. Av a i l a b l e a t h t t p : / / w w w. w i re d . c o m / w i re d / archive/14.10/thin.html. Accessed 2 September 2007. 3. Goetz, T. 2007. The bug detector. Wired 15(08): 92–97. Available at http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/ magazine/15-08/mf_tuberculosis?currentPage=all. Accessed 9 September 2007. 4. Hartman, J. R. 2007a. Flowchart Steps. Posted August 18, 2007 to http://home.earthlink.net/~jimh117/ jimhartman/. 5. Hartman, J. R. 2007b. Web-based system for monitoring diet and physical activity and for active surveillance of enteric diseases. Posted 20 October 2007 to http:// home.earthlink.net/~jimh117/jimhartman/. 6. IAFP Committee on Communicable Diseases Affecting Man. 1999. Procedures to Investigate Foodborne Illness, 5th ed. International Association for Food Protection, Des Moines, Iowa. 7. Lynch, M., J. Painter, R. Woodruff, and C. Braden. 2006. Surveillance for foodborne-disease outbreaks — United States, 1998–2002. Morb. Mortal. Weekly Rep. 55(SS-10:2. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/ PDF/ss/ss5510.pdf. Accessed 2 September 2007. 8. Mead, P. S., L. Slutsker, V. Dietz, L. F. McCaig, J. S. Bresee, C. Shapiro, P. M. Griffin, and R. V. Tauxe. 1999. Food-related illness and death in the United States. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 5:607–625. Available at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no5/mead.htm. Accessed 2 September 2007. 9. Wolf, G. 2005. Reinventing 911: How a swarm of networked citizens is building a better emergency broadcast system. Wired 13(12):208–223. Available at http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.12/warning_pr.html. Accessed 2 September 2007. JULY 2009 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS 465

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.10/thin.html http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.10/thin.html http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/15-08/mf_tuberculosis?currentPage=all http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/15-08/mf_tuberculosis?currentPage=all http://home.earthlink.net/~jimh117/jimhartman/ http://home.earthlink.net/~jimh117/jimhartman/ http://home.earthlink.net/~jimh117/jimhartman/ http://home.earthlink.net/~jimh117/jimhartman/ http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/ss/ss5510.pdf http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/ss/ss5510.pdf http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no5/mead.htm http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.12/warning_pr.html http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.12/warning_pr.html

Food Protection Trends - July 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - July 2009