possum don't wanna eat his salad...
Q&A: Tracking the source of stomach bug outbreak
31 July`13 WASHINGTON (AP) — State and federal investigators are trying to figure out the source of a stomach bug that has sickened 372 people in 15 states. Iowa and Nebraska have linked some cases in their states to eating pre-packaged salad mix, but the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have said the mix is not linked to all of the cases.
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Critics: Consumers should know more about outbreak
1 Aug.`13 — Food safety advocates say they are alarmed by a lack of information being disseminated about the spread of a nasty intestinal illness that has sickened nearly 400 people nationwide, including cases in two states that have been linked to prepackaged salad.
Q&A: Tracking the source of stomach bug outbreak
31 July`13 WASHINGTON (AP) — State and federal investigators are trying to figure out the source of a stomach bug that has sickened 372 people in 15 states. Iowa and Nebraska have linked some cases in their states to eating pre-packaged salad mix, but the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have said the mix is not linked to all of the cases.
Some frequently asked questions about the infection and the outbreak:
Q: What are cyclospora infections and how do people contract them?
A: Cyclospora infection, or cyclosporiasis, is caused by parasites that are spread when people ingest food or water contaminated with feces. People who are exposed usually become sick after about a week and have bad diarrhea and other flu-like symptoms that can last from a few days to a month or longer if untreated. It's common to feel tired and relapse is possible. It's not generally contagious and can be treated with antibiotics. Deaths from the infection are rare.
Q: Who is usually at risk?
A: People who live or travel in tropical or subtropical countries are most at risk, according to the CDC. The infections are rare in the United States but have been linked in the past to imported fruits and vegetables.
Q: Am I at risk in this current outbreak? How do I know if I have it?
A: You are probably OK if you have not already gotten sick. The CDC reports that most of the illnesses were reported between mid-June and early July. Fifteen states have so far reported illnesses: Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.
Q: How does the government trace the source of illnesses like this?
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Critics: Consumers should know more about outbreak
1 Aug.`13 — Food safety advocates say they are alarmed by a lack of information being disseminated about the spread of a nasty intestinal illness that has sickened nearly 400 people nationwide, including cases in two states that have been linked to prepackaged salad.
The outbreak of the rare parasite cyclospora has been reported in at least 15 states, and federal officials warned Wednesday it was too early to say that the threat was over. But if you're looking to find out exactly where it came from, you may be out of luck. Health officials in Nebraska and Iowa say they've traced cases there to prepackaged salad, but they haven't said which brand or where it was sold, explaining only that most if not all of it wasn't grown locally.
The lack of information has fueled concern from consumers and others who argue that companies should be held accountable when outbreaks happen and that customers need the information about where outbreaks originated to make smart food choices. "If you want the free market to work properly, then you need to let people have the information they need to make informed decisions," said Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who specializes in class-action food-safety lawsuits. Heath officials in California, which provides much of the nation's leafy green produce, said Wednesday that the state hadn't received any reports of cyclospora cases. "Based on the most currently available information, the leafy greens being implicated in this outbreak were not grown or processed in California," Corey Egel, a California Department of Public Health spokesman, said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Mark Hutson, who owns a Save-Mart grocery store in Lincoln, Neb., said the lack of specific brand information threatened to hurt all providers, including the good actors. "I think there was so little information as to what was causing the problem, that people just weren't sure what to do," he said. "Frankly, we would prefer to have the names out there." Authorities said they still hadn't determined whether the cases of cyclospora in the different states are connected. "It's too early to say for sure whether it's over, and thus too early to say there's no risk of still getting sick," said María-Belén Moran, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Only Iowa and Nebraska officials have directly linked the outbreak in their states to a salad mix of iceberg and romaine lettuce, carrots and red cabbage. But consumers far from known outbreak areas have acknowledged it was a factor as they shopped for produce. "I can't say I really want to go and buy particularly any lettuce right now," said Laura Flanagan, 35, who was shopping at a Whole Foods in Dallas with her two young children. "I'm being pretty cautious about it." The product was widely distributed in Iowa by wholesalers who could have supplied the bagged salad mix to all types of food establishments, including restaurants and grocery stores, said Iowa Food and Consumer Safety Bureau chief Steven Mandernach.
More http://news.yahoo.com/critics-consumers-know-more-outbreak-122758971.html
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