Technology Vs. E.coli Outbreaks

jcatcw writes "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found the patterns of illness in both of the recent E. coli outbreaks — packaged spinach and Taco Bell — using PulseNet, which uses a customized version of BioNumerics to conduct comparisons and analysis of samples in a SQL Server database. PulseNet holds the DNA fingerprints provided by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). It operates at a national level and can link small, localized cases in a nationwide pattern. 'We can now see the connections you would not have seen before, which has revolutionized the world of food safety,' according to John Besser, clinical laboratory manager at the Minnesota Department of Health and a member of the Association of Public Health Laboratories."

Comments

Control it at the source

[gvc]

E. Coli is an essential part of our (and animals') digestive process. Most strains of E. Coli are harmless to humans, but some, like O157:H7 are extremely virulent in humans but harmless to the animals that carry them.

It makes sense to spend our efforts trying to eradicate these strains in the domestic and wild animal populations. Otherwise, we run the risk of every farmer's field and every outdoor trail becoming a serious health hazard.

So while the epidemiologic effort to trace the source of the human outbreak is impressive, I think research into controlling it in animals is even more important.

Tech Wonders!

[twitter]

The database is nice but it would be nicer if we'd simply apply what we already know to prevent the outbreaks in the first place. There's nothing new about composting and how to do it safely, yet we see big commercial farms rush the job and spray immature and dissease causing crap on food stuffs that will be eaten raw. I'm not sure if this is a problem of economies of scale or lax enforcement of existing laws. I am sure that the problem needs to be fixed in a way that won't discriminate against small operators who have never had the problem to begin with.