How, when, where and why?
Those are questions being asked about our food-borne illness reporting system. While the FDA is a primary investigator for salmonella and other outbreaks, regional and local regulators also are involved in determining the source and extent of the contamination. Often it’s the local or state Departments of Public Health, that actually inform the public. And the delays are troubling.
The health care providers must first test for salmonella. And once a suspect sample is tested, results are generally sent to a state lab and then to a Center for Disease Control database. Federal officials then contact state health officials to determine if those who fell ill ate the same food. This leads to an interview or questionnaire being sent to the involved individuals; in some cases weeks or months after the initial illness.
The trend of increased food-borne illness occurrences has caused a review of this lengthy review process. What can be done to accelerate the process? One suggestion has been online reporting for food history forms rather than waiting for an agency employee to follow up with calls and letters. Another proposal is an automated phone message system. We obviously need to employ cutting edge technology to improve the reporting and pick up the pace of investigations that are critical to containing outbreaks.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
