Comparing Characteristics of Sporadic and Outbreak-Associated Foodborne Illnesses, United States, 2004-2011.

Outbreak data have been used to estimate the proportion of illnesses attributable to different foods. Applying outbreak-based attribution estimates to nonoutbreak foodborne illnesses requires an assumption of similar exposure pathways for outbreak and sporadic illnesses. This assumption cannot be tested, but other comparisons can assess its veracity. Our study compares demographic, clinical, temporal, and geographic characteristics of outbreak and sporadic illnesses from Campylobacter, Escherichia coli O157, Listeria, and Salmonella bacteria ascertained by the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet). Differences among FoodNet sites in outbreak and sporadic illnesses might reflect differences in surveillance practices. For Campylobacter, Listeria, and Escherichia coli O157, outbreak and sporadic illnesses are similar for severity, sex, and age. For Salmonella, outbreak and sporadic illnesses are similar for severity and sex. Nevertheless, the percentage of outbreak illnesses in the youngest age category was lower. Therefore, we do not reject the assumption that outbreak and sporadic illnesses are similar.

131I ablation treatment in young females after the Chernobyl accident.

UNLABELLED: The Chernobyl accident resulted in a number of cases of thyroid cancer in females under the age of 20 y. Many of these individuals were treated with surgical removal of the thyroid gland followed by 131I ablation of residual thyroid tissue. Epidemiologic evidence demonstrates that 131I treatment for thyroid cancer or hyperthyroidism in adult women confers negligible risk of breast cancer. However, comparable data for younger women do not exist. Studies of external radiation exposure indicate that, for radiation exposures of as low as 0.2-0.7 Gy, the risk of breast cancer is greater for infant and adolescent female breast tissues than for adult female breast tissues. METHODS: The effective half-time of 131I measured in athyrotic patients was used together with the OLINDA/EXM computer code to estimate doses to breast tissue in 10-y-old, 15-y-old, and young adult females from ablation treatment. RESULTS: The dose to pediatric and young adult female breast tissue associated with a 5.6-GBq (150 mCi) ablation treatment may range from 0.35 to 0.55 Gy, resulting in a lifetime risk of breast cancer ranging from 2-4 cases per 100 such individuals exposed and a lifetime risk of solid tumors ranging from 8 to 17 solid tumors per 100 such individuals exposed. Administration of multiple ablation treatments, as often occurs with metastases, could result in doses ranging from 0.7 to 1 Gy, with corresponding increases in the lifetime cancer risk. CONCLUSION: These estimates suggest the need for additional research and a possible need for surveillance of young Chernobyl thyroid cancer patients who received 131I ablation treatment.

A linear model for managing the risk of antimicrobial resistance originating in food animals.

A linear population risk model used by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) estimates the risk of human cases of campylobacteriosis caused by fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter. Among the cases of campylobacteriosis attributed to domestically produced chicken, the fluoroquinolone resistance is assumed to result from the use of fluoroquinolones in poultry in the United States. Properties of the linear population risk model are contrasted with those of a farm-to-fork model commonly used for microbial risk assessments. The utility of the linear population model for the purpose for which it was used by CVM is discussed.

The genomic revolution: what does it mean for human and ecological risk assessment?

The first sequencing of a complete organism genome occurred in 1995. Since then there has been an explosion of information, with a new organism being sequenced nearly every week. This rapid development of genomics is providing unparalleled opportunities in toxicology, ecology, and risk assessment. This paper provides an overview of some possible applications of this new information in ecological and human risk assessment.