Foodborne Disease

(CIDRAP News) – A landmark food safety bill that had been regarded as nearly dead 3 days ago was abruptly passed by the Senate late yesterday, following weeks of efforts to overcome a technical problem that invalidated an earlier version of it.

(CIDRAP News) – A broad food safety bill that in an earlier version had overwhelming support in the Senate was in serious trouble and running out of time today, after Senate Democratic leaders gave up on a huge omnibus spending bill to which the food measure was attached.

(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) – Stricter testing for ground beef bound for school lunches, emergency food banks, and other government programs isn't likely to boost safety, but a stronger scientific basis and other measures could, according to a new report from the National Research Council (NRC).

(CIDRAP News) – In the most detailed analysis to date on the Vibrio cholerae strain that has sparked Haiti's outbreak, researchers confirmed that it most closely resembles a South Asian variant not previously seen in the region and that it is more lethal than other strains.

(CIDRAP News) – Landmark food safety legislation cleared another hurdle yesterday evening when the US House of Representatives passed a massive funding bill that includes a version of the legislation that fixes an error in the Senate's recently passed food safety bill.

(CIDRAP News) – A report by an epidemiologist sent by France to assist Haiti with the cholera response said United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces from Nepal are the most likely source of the outbreak, though others deny the claims or say the findings are inconclusive.

Dec 8, 2010

(CIDRAP News) –Cholera deaths are climbing in southwestern Haiti, an area that had been previously spared by the outbreak, as health officials face prevention challenges from local beliefs that the disease is caused by supernatural forces.