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May 22

Source of Salmonella in cantaloupe-linked outbreak remains unclear

(CIDRAP News) Although clear evidence links a recent widespread outbreak of Salmonella infection in the United States and Canada with eating cantaloupe, just how the cantaloupe became contaminated remains unclear, according to federal and state health officials.

Robert Roos

May 21

Public health faces severe labor shortage, says HHS bioterrorism expert

(CIDRAP News) – The federal government is pouring billions of dollars into public health, but the effort to improve the nation's preparedness for bioterrorism faces a severe shortage of people trained in public health disciplines, according to Donald A. Henderson, MD, a top federal adviser on public health preparedness.

Robert Roos

May 20

Handling frogs could be a Salmonella infection risk factor

(CIDRAP News) Some people find frogs disgusting, but now a study of an illness outbreak in Mississippi suggests that frogs may be literally nauseating. The case-control study implicates contact with amphibians as a potential risk factor for infection with Salmonella enterica serotype Javiana.

May 16

Survey finds major gaps in physicians' and public's knowledge of smallpox

A CDC survey suggests that many physicians as well as the public are largely unaware of the risks associated with smallpox vaccination.

Robert Roos

May 15

Quinolone resistance growing in common foodborne strain of Salmonella

The most common cause of foodborne Salmonella infections grew increasingly resistant to the quinolone nalidixic acid between 1995 and 2000, according to a study from Denmark.

May 14

CDC to hear from the public on smallpox vaccination issues

Federal health authorities provide opportunities in the next month for input as they revise the current policy regarding vaccination of the general population.

Robert Roos

May 10

HHS offers advice on guarding building air systems from terrorist attack

Raising air intake vents at least 12 feet above the ground is one important step for protecting building ventilation systems from terrorist attacks, according to federal guidelines issued today.

Expert panel urges halt to nontherapeutic use of antibiotics on farms

(CIDRAP News) A committee of experts convened by the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) says that antibiotics should not be used in agriculture except to treat sick animals and protect healthy animals threatened by disease in the herd or flock.

May 8

GAO reports increased foodborne disease in schools, urges more safety steps

(CIDRAP News) Foodborne disease outbreaks in public schools increased about 10% per year and made 16,000 students sick in the 1990s, according to the US General Accounting Office (GAO). The agency recommends the creation of a single federal food safety agency with increased authority as one of several steps to improve food safety in the schools.

Healthcare system not ready for attack with hemorrhagic fever viruses

From May 8 JAMA

Robert Roos

May 7

Jerome Hauer to succeed D. A. Henderson in public health preparedness post

Donald A. Henderson, MD, is leaving his position as director of the federal Office of Public Health Preparedness, to be succeeded by Jerome M. Hauer, former emergency management director for New York City.

May 6

Camelpox and smallpox viruses called very close relatives

The close kinship between camelpox and smallpox viruses suggests that camelpox could become a threat to humans through natural processes or genetic engineering, according to researchers who sequenced the virus.

May 3

Drug-resistant Salmonella infections linked with higher mortality

In a Danish study, patients who had infections with a common drug-resistant type of Salmonella enterica were more than twice as likely to die within 2 years as patients infected with drug-susceptible variants of the same strain.

May 2

Single gene change enabled plague bacterium to ride in fleas

A single gene change enabled a recent ancestor of Yersinia pestis to use fleas as its transmission vehicle, launching the transformation of a relatively benign microbe into the agent that causes plague.

May 1

Factors governing infectiousness of anthrax still mysterious, experts say

(CIDRAP News) A lengthy report by an expert panel on anthrax generally echoes treatment and prevention recommendations made by federal health officials last fall while highlighting how little is known about the epidemiology of the disease, especially how many spores it takes to cause infection.

Robert Roos

Apr. 30

Researchers: Restrict farm use of antibiotics before, but not after, human bugs become resistant

Study using a new mathematical model suggests that continued farm use of antibiotics has little further effect once a resistant strain is established in humans.

Apr. 26

USDA says Salmonella in meat and poultry is declining; further control steps planned

(CIDRAP News) Salmonella contamination of raw meat and poultry has dropped substantially since the inspection system known as Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (PR/HACCP) debuted in 1998, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Robert Roos