| 12/30/2003 CDC: Outbreaks, Deaths From Salmonella Strain Are Declining - 12/26 USA Today The rise of salmonella enteritidis in the 1980s was one of the most serious foodborne epidemics in recent U.S. history. The bacteria strain rapidly spread from the Northeast to the rest of the country, and by the early 1990s it had reached Hawaii and other continents. "This was a real big epidemic that emerged," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, chief of the foodborne and diarrheal diseases branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It also emerged in Europe, Japan and many other countries all at the same time." But since the early 1990s, the case rate has been cut by half, according to the study, which will be published in the January issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a CDC journal. In 1995, infections from the strain reached a high of 3.9 per 100,000 people but that dropped to 1.98 per 100,000 in 1999. That's still higher than the rate of 0.55 per 100,000 recorded in 1976 prior to the 1980s outbreaks, said the study, available on the CDC Web site. In addition, deaths from such outbreaks in health facilities dropped from 14 in 1987 to zero in 1999, the CDC said. During the peak of the epidemic in the 1980s, enteritidis was the top salmonella strain in the country. Now it represents about 15% of all salmonella cases. "This by and large is a success story, one of the few that we've had," said Dr. David Haburchak, professor of medicine at the Medical College of Georgia. The strain causes fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea in most people for up to a week, but can cause death in the elderly, infants and people with impaired immune systems. Health officials credited the reduction to extensive control efforts, including encouraging the use of pasteurized eggs, refrigerating eggs and teaching people to avoid eating raw or runny eggs. Related Link: http://www.usatoday.com |
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