— OPINION —
The Abbott toddler system recall may have been prevented. The FDA had stories of security failures months earlier than the contaminated system sickened infants and precipitated two deaths.
I despatched these T-shirts to the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, which is tasked to make suggestions as to what pathogens are reportable. I additionally despatched this message: “I hope that these T-shirts will likely be a reminder of the superior accountability that this council has to guard the general public.”
The top of the FDA stated in testimony to congress months in the past:
“The CDC receives stories on foodborne illness outbreaks from state, native, and territorial well being departments. On common, CDC receives two to 4 Cronobacter case stories yearly; nonetheless, as a result of Cronobacter an infection will not be reportable in most states, the overall variety of circumstances that happen in america annually will not be recognized.”
Here’s a little bit of historical past about why having bacterial infections reportable could make a distinction.
In 1992, from mid-November to mid-January, 9 circumstances of E. coli O157:H7-associated bloody diarrhea and the hemolytic-uremic syndrome had been reported in San Diego County, California and 1 baby died. A complete of 34 individuals had bloody diarrhea, the hemolytic-uremic syndrome, or E. coli O157:H7 organisms remoted from stool throughout the interval November 15, 1992, by January 31, 1993. E. coli O157:H7 was finally recognized from 6 individuals had been indistinguishable from these of the Washington outbreak pressure linked to Jack within the Field eating places in Washington, Idaho, Nevada and California. All of the pre-formed frozen hamburgers had been produced by Von’s in California and shipped to these eating places in these states after the sickness in California had already occurred. In keeping with public well being officers:
Improved surveillance by mandating laboratory – and doctor – based mostly reporting of circumstances of E coli O157:H7 an infection and the hemolytic uremic syndrome may need alerted well being officers to this outbreak sooner, which may have resulted in earlier investigation and the establishment of measures to stop extra circumstances.
Clearly, had E. coli O157:H7 been reportable, public well being officers in California would have caught the diseases and almost certainly prevented the hamburgers from being shipped to different states. A whole lot of individuals – particularly kids – wouldn’t have been sickened and three would probably not have died.
Make Cronobacter sakazakii reportable and save lives.
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