CDC RELEASES REPORT ON FOODS AND FOODBORNE AGENTS ASSOCIATED WITH OUTBREAKS IN THE UNITED STATES

The CDC has released the Surveillance for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks, United States, 2008 report in this week′s edition of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report states that during 2008, the most recent year for which foodborne outbreak data are finalized, 1,034 foodborne disease outbreaks were reported.

These outbreaks resulted in 23,152 cases of illness, 1,276 hospitalizations, and 22 deaths. The foodborne agent responsible for the outbreak was confirmed by state health officials in 497 (or 45%) of the outbreaks. Among outbreaks with known pathogens, norovirus was the most common agent (49% and 46% of illnesses) and Salmonella was the second most common (23% of outbreaks and 31% of illnesses). Although the cause of an outbreak cannot always be determined or confirmed, state health officials reported specific food groups associated with 218 of these outbreaks.

The top food groups to which the 218 outbreaks were attributed were poultry (15%), beef (14%), and fish (14%). Among the 7,177 illnesses in these 218 outbreaks, the food groups associated with the most illnesses were fruits and nuts (24%), vine vegetables (23%), and beef (13%).