Not a Happy Campylobacter

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Shawn Stevens

There has been a lot of attention drawn to recent salmonella and listeria outbreaks, and, in turn, those pathogens themselves. In the meantime, the pathogen Campylobacter has worked itself into relative obscurity. This may seem surprising, as CDC estimates that Campylobacter associated illnesses affect as many as 845,000 Americans each year.

Campylobacter is a spiral-shaped bacteria that causes disease (Campylobacteriosis) in both humans and animals and is often found in the intestinal tracts of poultry, cattle, swine, domestic animals, and sometimes humans. The bacteria pass through feces and can also be found in untreated water. It is the leading cause of diarrheal illness in the United States (USDA).

Symptoms of infection due to the bacteria usually occur 2 to 5 days after consuming contaminated food, however, it may take as long as 10 days for symptoms to appear. This is similar to E. coli and the two are often confused for one another. The most common symptom is diarrhea which can often times be bloody. Other symptoms include fever, nausea, abdominal pain, headache, vomiting, and muscle pain. Like most FBIs, those most susceptible to contracting Campylobacteriosis are young children, elderly persons, and pregnant women.

In most instances, campylobacter infections resolve without serious illness occurring. It is important to note, however that even though complications from Campylobacter infections are rare, they can occur. The following are the most common:

  • Gullian-Barre´ Syndrome (GBS): most common cause of generalized paralysis. GBS occurs when antibodies built up to fight the disease attack nerve cells.
  • Reactive Arthritis: inflammation of the joints, eyes, reproductive or urinary organs.
  • Appendicitis

In the event that a widespread outbreak was to occur, even statistically insignificant numbers of individuals affected by such complications could spell disaster for a company. The resulting lawsuits could easily result in millions of dollars in settlements and significant brand damage.

As with preventing all foodborne illnesses, maintaining sanitary conditions and remaining cognizant of potential hazards can make all the difference in preventing Campylobacter outbreaks. With continued awareness of harmful bacteria such as Campylobacter, and how we can prevent it from occurring in our food, we can continue to prevent serious foodborne illnesses from affecting our families and ourselves.
 

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Getting To The CORE Of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Shawn Stevens

The FDA recently announced the implementation of a fully-staffed network dedicated to rapidly responding to human and animal foodborne illness outbreaks. This group is called the Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE) Network.

Kathleen F. Gensheimer, formally Maine’s state epidemiologist, will lead CORE, in the new position of Chief Medical Officer/Outbreak Director. Under the leadership of Gensheimer and the FDA, CORE will be staffed by epidemiologists, veterinarians, microbiologists, environmental health specialists and risk communications specialists.

Their primary objectives of the new group are to: (1) rapidly respond to emerging outbreaks; and (2) research past outbreaks in order to develop new preventative methods in the hopes of mitigating or preventing future outbreaks.

Gensheimer, quoted in the FDA’s press release, stated, “A real benefit of the network approach is enhancing communication and coordination with federal, state and local food safety agencies, as well as industry and consumers. Given my background at the state public health level, this is a major priority for me.”

Before CORE was created, there was no centralized staff, but rather various offices of the FDA that responded to incidents. CORE, FDA is hopeful, will provide a more in-depth process of monitoring and evaluating foodborne illness outbreaks as well as facilitating faster responses when outbreaks do occur.

The lack of coordination between the multiple governmental agencies involved in foodborne illness outbreaks has, historically, resulted in a host of problems. In some instances, these have included errors in trace back investigations conducted by local health department personnel which have prevented the true source of an outbreak from being identified.

The FDA confirms that CORE will work closely in all outbreak investigations with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as well as public health and agriculture agencies.

“The centralized staff of the CORE Network will work closely with FDA’s field emergency response coordinators and the investigative and analytical teams in the District offices and associated laboratories,” said Dara Corrigan, associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “Working together will help to both standardize and strengthen how we conduct foodborne outbreak activities in the field.”

Ideally, CORE will fundamentally change the manner in which foodborne illness investigations are conducted in a way that allows for faster resolutions, more effective trace back and most importantly, fewer illness.
 

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