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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 18, 2002
Contact: CDC Press Office
(404) 639-3286

FOODBORNE ILLNESSES POST DRAMATIC SIX-YEAR DECLINE


HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today released new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that show a 23 percent overall drop in bacterial foodborne illnesses since 1996. The data come from the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) and are published in the April 19 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

"These findings represent a true reduction in the number of Americans suffering from foodborne illness," said Secretary Thompson. "However, foodborne disease remains a substantial public health burden, and we must continue to expand our efforts to keep America's food supply the safest it can be."

FoodNet is a joint effort by HHS, state health departments, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to capture a more accurate and complete picture of trends in the occurrence of foodborne illness. Within HHS, the network involves the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"These data demonstrate that we are on the right track," said Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman. "Modern, science-based food inspection systems have contributed to our ability to control pathogens during food processing. Further reduction continues to be a top priority for the Bush administration."

According to the new data, the four major bacterial foodborne illnesses -- Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli O157 -- posted a 21 percent decline in the past six years. Campylobacter infections dropped 27 percent, infections from Listeria fell 35 percent, and Salmonella infections decreased by 15 percent. E. coli O157 infections dropped 21 percent, but all of that decline occurred since 2000. These declines signify important progress toward meeting HHS' Healthy People 2010 objectives for reducing the incidence of disease caused by these bacterial infections.

Other less common bacterial foodborne illnesses also showed significant declines since 1996. Yersinia infections decreased 49 percent, and Shigella infections dropped by 35 percent.

Several factors have contributed to the decline in foodborne illnesses. Enhanced surveillance and outbreak investigations have identified new control measures and focused attention on preventing foodborne diseases. The USDA has implemented the Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations in meat and poultry plants. Other interventions include the FDA's egg safety programs to prevent Salmonella Enteritidis infections, HACCP regulation of fruit and vegetable juices, seafood HACCP, extensive food safety education, publication and outreach of good agricultural practices for fresh produce and increased regulation of imported food.

Furthermore, infants and young children account for the highest incidence of foodborne diseases. Many studies have shown that breast-feeding is important in preventing foodborne diseases among infants, and a study is currently being conducted of sporadic cases of Salmonella and Campylobacter among young children to identify opportunities for prevention of these diseases.

In 1996, the FoodNet surveillance system began collecting information about laboratory-diagnosed cases of foodborne illnesses caused by Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, E. coli O157, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia, and Vibrio. Each year the surveillance area, or catchment, has expanded. The total population of the current catchment is 38 million persons, or 13 percent of the United States population.

Note to editors: The full report, "Preliminary FoodNet Data on the Incidence of Foodborne Illnesses -- Selected Sites, United States, 2001" appears in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (April 19, 2002) and is available online at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news.