How does FDA determine that an outbreak is underway?
State health departments report certain illnesses to CDC. State health departments maintain surveillance systems for reportable infectious diseases, including salmonellosis, and routinely conduct a genetic analysis called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) on each bacterial isolate to define its DNA fingerprint. Patterns may develop that indicate an outbreak. A surge of reported infections with a common DNA fingerprint over what is normally seen often signals the beginning of a common source outbreak. CDC, working with the States, determines which foods the people who became sick had in common, and notifies FDA of their findings. FDA then can begin tracing these foods back through the food-supply chain, to look for the point (or points) where the foods may have been contaminated, so that further illness can be prevented.
State health departments report certain illnesses to CDC. State health departments maintain surveillance systems for reportable infectious diseases, including salmonellosis, and routinely conduct a genetic analysis called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) on each bacterial isolate to define its DNA fingerprint. Patterns may develop that indicate an outbreak. A surge of reported infections with a common DNA fingerprint over what is normally seen often signals the beginning of a common source outbreak. CDC, working with the States, determines which foods the people who became sick had in common, and notifies the FDA of their findings. FDA then can begin tracing these foods back through the food-supply chain, to look for the point (or points) where the foods may have been contaminated, so that further illness can be prevented.
