Tag Archives: CDC

The 5 Biggest Accomplishments in Increasing Public Health Awareness in the Past 10 Years

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The CDC is using the upcoming 9/11 anniversary to highlight the past decade’s achievements in increasing public awareness about major health issues. Fortunately, we have not seen a truly devastating pandemic sweep the globe, but H5N1, H1N1, SARS, many deadly food-borne pathogene outbreaks and other serious health threats have illustrated the need for better preparedness and response to public health crises.

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Here’s the agency’s number one accomplishment.

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Following the 2001 attacks there was a cultural shift in how we think about national security. It had become apparent that public health played an important role in national security. The terrorist attacks changed the way state and city health departments worked and interacted with other agencies and sectors.

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Health departments are increasingly becoming accepted as equal partners by traditional first responders, including law enforcement, fire departments and emergency medical services. These interactions are supported by the incorporation of public health components into the National Response Framework and Nation Incident Management System (the “playbooks” federal, state, and local responders use to plan for and respond to emergencies).  Our ability to respond to disasters is strengthened with each area of government working together.

This, more than anything else, says the organization, will be the key when the next major public health scare occurs.

Superbugs in Your Supermarket Chicken

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The use of antibiotics in animal feed has been widely publicized in recent years, with studies presenting alarming evidence of the amounts and types of drugs used and their effect on consumers. A new study, however, sheds an even more alarming light on the situation.

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Canada’s CBC TV recently launched an investigation, which found that a whopping two-thirds of samples of chicken found at major grocery stores in some of Canada’s biggest cities has bacteria resistant to at least one antibiotic.

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As the study asserts, this is not unusual. What frightened researchers was the fact that some of the bacteria found were resistant to six, seven or eight different types of antibiotics.

“This is the most worrisome study I’ve seen of its kind,” said Rick Smith, the head of Environmental Defence, a consumer advocacy group.

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But, as Wired science blogger Maryn McKenna points, out, this is not a problem with only Canadian meat, it is a worldwide problem. She points to an annual report published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which “monitors the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among foodborne bacteria, specifically, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Enterococcus and Escherichia coli.” Their findings are not far off from those of Canada’s CBC TV.

The following is just one chart from the report showing the prevalence of resistant bacteria in store-bought meats:


The problem for us humans lies in the fact that routine use of antibiotics on farms contributes to the surge in antibiotic-resistant infections among people. And, as Grist writer, Tom Philpott points out, “MRSA — an antibiotic-resistant staph infection — now kills more Americans than AIDS.”

This topic seems to be of little concern to the FDA, and seems even less worrisome to the CDC. So if the two organizations that are supposed to fight for food safety and disease control and prevention are putting forth little, if any, effort, who will protect us?

New Food Safety Rules on the Way

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A long-overdue overhaul of U.S. food safety regulations looks to be inevitable after a Senate committee recently approved a bill to increase the federal government’s oversight of the food industry.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 76 million people in the United States get sick, 300,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die from foodborne illnesses each year. And in recent years, disease outbreaks in contaminated peanut butter, peppers, tomatoes, ground beef and spinach, to name only a few, have made headlines and have led consumer groups to demand reform of the country’s ineffective food safety regulations. 

The bill, which was approved by the House in July, will give the FDA the power to actually order food recalls (rather than merely recommending them as it can do now), increase inspection rates and require facilities to have a food safety plan. The legislation would also mandate inspections of all food processing plants every four years and high-risk plants every year. Currently, there is no regular schedule for food facilities.

There is some question as to how all this increased oversight will be paid for, but Sen. Tom Larkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which approved the bill, doesn’t think this is a deal-breaker.

“If this is for public protection, it’s something we should all pay for,” he said.

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), a member of the committee, underlined the bill’s importance. 

“There are very few things that are as important as ensuring that the food we eat and the food we serve our families is safe for consumption,” said Dodd.

Despite the bill’s support, it is likely that it won’t come to full vote in the Senate until next year after the health care debate has been decided.