News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced approval of what it calls the first test for preliminary identification of norovirus, intended for use in outbreaks in which there is a likely transmission pathway.

(CIDRAP News) – The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) today released its first report on how well states perform at reporting foodborne disease outbreaks, which they say varies greatly, with seven states earning A grades and 14 getting Fs.

(CIDRAP News) – British health officials said today that flu indicators show some early signs of a plateau, but they warned that the latest surveillance update covers a time when many schools and doctors offices were closed for the holidays.

(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.

(CIDRAP News) – In the first clinical trial of a norovirus vaccine—in which volunteers were deliberately exposed to the common gastrointestinal virus—the inoculation reduced participants' risk of illness by 47%, according to results released recently by LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(CIDRAP News) – Norovirus was the most common confirmed cause of foodborne disease outbreaks in 2007, and poultry led the list of food commodities involved, according to a report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

– ATLANTA