ATLANTA, April 11 (UPI) -- A 10-state report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta shows little change in the rate of some food-borne infections over two years.
Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, E.coli O157, Vibrio, and Yersinia did not decline significantly, and the estimated incidence of Cryptosporidium increased from 2004 to 2006, the report said. There have been significant declines in the incidence of some food-borne infections since surveillance began in 1996, but these declines all occurred before 2004.
"Prevention efforts have been partly successful, but there has been little further progress in the most recent years," Dr. Robert Tauxe of the CDC said in a statement. "More needs to be done to make our food safer."
The findings are from 2007 data reported to the CDC as part of the agency′s Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, or FoodNet, which monitors food-borne disease. Although the FoodNet population is similar to the U.S. population, the findings are used to detect trends in food-borne illness and should not be generalized for the entire U.S. population, Tauxe said.
Consumers can reduce food-borne illness risk by following safe food-handling recommendations and by avoiding unpasteurized milk, raw or undercooked oysters, raw or undercooked eggs, raw or undercooked ground beef and undercooked poultry.
