News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – The number of US gastroenteritis deaths more than doubled in 8 years, with Clostridium difficile and norovirus as the two most common culprits, researchers reported today at an infectious disease conference.

(CIDRAP News) – Although the estimated annual toll of foodborne illnesses and deaths in the United States was revised sharply downward by federal officials in 2010, foodborne disease still costs the nation up to $77.7 billion a year, according to a new study in the Journal of Food Protection.

(CIDRAP News) – In its annual report on foodborne disease outbreaks, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that in 2008, norovirus was the most common confirmed cause and that poultry topped the list of implicated food commodities.

(CIDRAP News) – Most of the foodborne illnesses in the United States are caused by a fairly short list of pathogens in a limited number of foods, with Salmonella, Campylobacter, and poultry ranking high, the University of Florida's Emerging Pathogens Institute said in a lengthy report released today.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released newer, more precise estimates of the foodborne illness burden, suggesting 1 in 6 Americans get sick each year, a rate lower than previously thought.