CDC – Welcome to NARMS Now: Human Data, an interactive tool from CDC that contains antibiotic resistance data from bacteria isolated from humans as part of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS). NARMS Now: Human Data makes it easier and quicker to find out how antibiotic resistance has changed over the past 20 years for four bacteria transmitted commonly through food—Campylobacter, E. coli O157, Salmonella, and Shigella. Get started by filling in the search options below or scroll down the page to download NARMS data.
Norovirus is a group of more than 30 related viruses that can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Norovirus affects about 20 million people each year in the U.S., with infections that can lead to hospitalization and occasionally to death, particularly in the elderly. About a quarter of the time, “noro” infection is obtained by consuming contaminated foods or water. However, it is most often spread between people in close contact with each other. The epidemic GII.4 strain predominates, but there are others.
But how, exactly, is noro transmitted from person to person?
Epidemiological studies have suggested that norovirus can be ‘aerosolized’ through vomiting, meaning that small particles containing norovirus can become airborne when someone throws up.
New data collected by Stericycle, a company that handles recalls for businesses, shows a sharp jump in the number of recalls of organic food products, according to a story in the N.Y. Times.
Organic food products accounted for 7 percent of all food units recalled so far this year, compared with 2 percent of those recalled last year, according to data from the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture that Stericycle uses to compile its quarterly report on recalls
Infections are common in children attending daycare centres (DCCs). We evaluated the effect of a hand hygiene (HH) intervention for caregivers on the incidence of gastrointestinal and respiratory infections in children. The intervention was evaluated in a two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial. Thirty-six DCCs received the intervention including HH products, training sessions, and posters/stickers. Thirty-five control DCCs continued usual practice. Incidence of episodes of diarrhoea and the common cold in children was monitored by parents during 6 months. Using multilevel Poisson regression, incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained. Diarrhoeal incidence was monitored in 545 children for 91 937 days. During follow-up, the incidence was 3·0 episodes per child-year in intervention DCCs vs. 3·4 in control DCCs (IRR 0·90, 95% CI 0·73–1·11). Incidence of the common cold was monitored in 541 children for 91 373 days. During follow-up, the incidence was 8·2 episodes per child-year in intervention DCCs vs. 7·4 in control DCCs (IRR 1·07, 95% CI 0·97–1·19). In this study, no evidence for an effect of the intervention was demonstrated on the incidence of episodes of diarrhoea and the common cold.
FoodWorld 