CDC Report Finds Some Varieties of Food Poisoning on the Rise

Certain types of food poisoning are becoming increasingly common, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's annual report on foodborne illness. The report found that while food poisoning related to contaminated meat in general has declined, illness related to contaminated poultry, oysters, shellfish, and raw milk has gradually become more frequent.

Specifically, the CDC found that the number of cases involving campylobacter have increased steadily since 2006. The rate of increase in new campylobacter cases was most pronounced in children under the age of 5.

Here is some of the key information to emerge from Thursday's new report on foodborne illness.

* The CDC estimates that some 48 million people per year are affected by some form of foodborne illness. Many of those cases do not get reported, as people are not always diagnosed.

* The agency's annual report compiles data for a wide range of such illnesses, including salmonella, campylobacter, listeria, E. coli, and vibrio.

* The CDC found that while some forms of salmonella have become less common since 2006, others have increased.

* The most dramatic increase in foodborne illness was related to vibrio. New cases of food poisoning caused by vibrio increased 116 percent between 1996 and 2012. The incidence of poisoning related to the bacterium has increased 43 percent just in the last five years.

* Vibrio is most often caused by raw or undercooked oysters and shellfish, and can have serious health implications, particularly for those who have compromised immune systems, according to the CDC.

* As noted by the Associated Press, the CDC report depends upon data collected from a sample of 10 states, or approximately 15 percent of the total U.S. population.

* The incidence of food poisoning caused by campylobacter has increased by 14 percent in the last five years.

* Even with the increases in the number of new cases involving campylobacter and vibrio, however, salmonella still accounts for far more occurrences of food poisoning than any other pathogen.

* Dr. Robert Tauxe, an expert in foodborne illness at the CDC, told NBC News and other media outlets on Thursday that salmonella causes "40 percent of the infections that the FOODNet system collected," and that after seeing the new data regarding the incidence of food poisoning in 2012, he believes that "we need to think more and more about what happens to the animals before they come to slaughter, what happens back on the farm, and what happens with other foods such as produce and processed foods."

Vanessa Evans is a musician and freelance writer based in Michigan, with a lifelong interest in health and nutrition issues.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cdc-report-finds-varieties-food-poisoning-rise-162600682.html

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