IAFP 2009 Program Book and Abstract Book - AB165

eggs, beef, game, pork, poultry, grains-beans, oils-sugars, fruits-nuts, fungi, leafy vegetables, root vegetables, sprouts, and vegetables from a vine or stalk. A multistate FBDO was defined as the occurrence of two or more illnesses resulting from a common food exposure, in which exposure occurred in multiple states. Results: Among 12,398 foodborne outbreaks reported during 1998 to 2007, 106 (1%) involved multiple states with a common source and were responsible for 8,786 (4%) illnesses, 1,310 (17%) hospitalizations, and 57 (29%) deaths. The most commonly reported etiologies were Salmonella, with 55 (52%) outbreaks and 4,735 (54%) illnesses, and Shiga toxinproducing Escherichia coli, with 30 (28%) outbreaks and 1,132 (13%) illnesses. Among 84 (79%) outbreaks (5,604 illnesses) that implicated a food that could be classified into a single commodity, the most commonly identified food commodities were beef, with 22 (26%) outbreaks and 770 (14%) illnesses; leafy vegetables, with 13 (16%) outbreaks and 1,216 (22%) illnesses, and fruits-nuts, with 12 (14%) outbreaks and 721 (13%) illnesses; pathogen-commodity pairs responsible for the most outbreak-related illnesses were Salmonella in vine-stalk vegetables, Salmonella in fruits-nuts, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in leafy vegetables, Shigella in leafy vegetables, and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in beef. Significance: Large scale, multistate outbreaks provide data on sources of contamination because food items are usually contaminated before the point of preparation. Our data suggest that prevention strategies should place emphasis on Salmonella contamination of vine-stalk vegetables and fruits-nuts, and on Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli contamination of leafy vegetables and beef. P3-46 Epidemiological Approaches for Food Safety OLASUNMBO A. AJAYI, Leonard Williams and Jacob Oluwoye Alabama A&M University, Madison, AL, USA Introduction: Incidence of foodborne disease (FBD) is difficult to estimate; however, foodborne pathogens cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually in the US. Treatment of FBD creates a substantial burden on the health care system, loss of productivity and economic burden is estimated at $20 to $40 billion annually. In 1996, active surveillance began for laboratory confirmed cases of nine selected foodborne pathogens in ten states. Several multi-state population-based surveillance studies have indicated an increase in prevalence of these foodborne pathogens, particularly Campylobacter, Salmonella, STEC O157, Shigella, and Vibrio. It is common knowledge that there is underreporting; although FBD can be severe or fatal, milder cases are often not detected through routine surveillance. Staphylococcus aureus infections, though not under active surveillance, are also on the rise, particularly Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Purpose: The objectives of this study were to examine and evaluate risk factors for FBD, and to quantify the effect of FBD from outbreaks statistics. Methods: Data sources for analysis include but are not limited to the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, National Hospital Discharge Survey and Active Bacterial Core Surveillance (ABCs) Report. Results: Results indicated that during 1996 to 2006, the leading cause of FDB outbreaks were Salmonella spp. (1,183), Escherichia coli spp. (259), Campylobacter spp. (136), Shigella spp. (122) and Staphylococcus spp. (167). The pathogen resulting in the highest number of death was Listeria monocytogenes (125/100,000 individuals). Children < 1 to 10 years were more susceptible to Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter, 30- 60 have higher incidence of listeriosis. Significance: The paper concludes that public knowledge/perception of food safety, handling, and risks as related to food consumption is crucial in reducing the trend of food related diseases. P3-47 Ethnic Food Safety Trends in the United States: CDC Foodborne Illness Data from 1990 to 2006 DEANN AKINS and Amarat Simonne University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA Introduction: Ethnic foods are popular in the United States. The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center estimated that annual sales of ethnic foods will reach 75 billion dollars over the next decade. However, limited food safety knowledge is available for some of those ethnic foods. Purpose: This study examined foodborne illness data relating to ethnic foods reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 1990 through 2006. Methods: Foodborne illness data obtained from the CDC were examined and categorized in order to determine food safety trends. Ethnic foods were classified into three major groups: Mexican, Italian, and Asian foods. Total numbers of outbreaks and cases for all ethnic foods were compared to the total numbers of foodborne illness outbreaks and cases. Results: Foodborne illness outbreaks associated with the three classes of ethnic foods were 6.4% of total foodborne diseases in 1990 and 8.1% in 2006. These foodborne disease cases showed no trend over time. The largest numbers of outbreaks were reported in Florida (n = 301), California (n = 218), Washington (n = 84), New York (n = 72), and Maryland (n = 70). The majority of incidents were associated with restaurants (51%), followed by private homes (20%), other (15%), workplaces (6%), schools (5%), and churches/temples (3%). The majority of the outbreaks in ethnic foods were caused by unknown pathogens, followed by Norovirus (10%), Salmonella spp. (5%), Clostridium perfringens (5%), and others (10%). Further, different ethnic foods have different microbial profiles. The major organisms specifically implicated Italian, Mexican, and Asian foods, respectively, were Norovirus (38%), Salmonella spp. (26%), and Norovirus (50%). Significance: These findings will increase awareness among food safety professionals so that risks due to these foods can be determined and minimized. Abstract Book — 165 Poster
IAFP 2009 Program Book and Abstract Book

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