Multistate outbreaks cause more than half of all deaths in foodborne disease outbreaks despite accounting for 3% of reported outbreaks in the US, according to Vital Signs report released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The leading causes of multistate outbreaks – Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria – are more dangerous than that of single-state outbreaks.
These three germs, which cause 91% of multistate outbreaks, can contaminate widely distributed foods, such as vegetables, beef, chicken and fresh fruits, and end up sickening people in many states.
“Top-notch epidemiology and new gene sequencing tools are helping us quickly track down the source of foodborne outbreaks – and together with our national partners we are working with the food industry to prevent them from happening in the first place,” says CDC Director Tom Frieden.
The report analyzed data from CDC’s Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System during 2010-2014.
CDC scientists compared the number of illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths from outbreaks in two or more states with those from outbreaks that occurred in a state.
They found that the 120 multistate outbreaks during the five-year study period were responsible for 11% of all foodborne outbreak illnesses, 34% of hospitalizations and 56% of deaths.
An average of 24 multistate outbreaks occurred each year, involving two to 37 states.
