Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet)

Purpose

THE FOODBORNE DISEASES ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE NETWORK (FOODNET) is the foodborne disease component of CDC's Emerging Infections Program (EIP). FoodNet is a collaborative project among CDC, the 10 EIP sites, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FoodNet consists of active surveillance for foodborne diseases and related epidemiologic studies designed to help public health officials better understand the epidemiology of infections commonly transmitted through food in the United States . FoodNet provides a network for responding to new and emerging foodborne diseases of national importance, monitoring the burden of foodborne diseases, and identifying the sources of specific foodborne diseases.  

Goals & Objectives

  • Determine the burden of foodborne illness in the United States
  • Monitor trends in the burden of specific foodborne illness over time
  • Attribute the burden of foodborne illness to specific foods and settings
  • Disseminate information that can lead to improvements in public health practice and the development of interventions to reduce the burden of foodborne illness.

Activities

  • In Connecticut, FoodNet conducts statewide, active laboratory-based surveillance for bacterial and parasitic foodborne pathogens on every laboratory-diagnosed case of bacterial pathogens including Salmonella , Shigella , Campylobacter , Escherichia coli O157 and other non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), Listeria monocytogenes , Yersinia enterocolitica , and Vibrio and parasitic organisms including Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora infection. This information is transmitted electronically to CDC. In addition to collecting laboratory-diagnosed cases of foodborne pathogens, investigators at FoodNet sites conduct active surveillance for hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) (a serious complication of STEC infection). The result is a comprehensive and timely database of foodborne illness in a well-defined population.
  • Physician, Laboratory and Population Surveys
  • Case-control studies to identify risk factors for specific foodborne pathogens.

Selected Publications 

R Mody, RE Luna-Gierke, TF Jones N Comstock, S Hurd, J Scheftel, S Lathrop, G Smith, A Palmer, N Strockbine, D Talkington, BE Mahon, RM Hoekstra, PM Griffin, Infections in Pediatric Postdiarrheal Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Factors Associated With Identifying Shiga Toxin–Producing Escherichia coli Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med.Published online August 6, 2012.

Studies From the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2012; Vol 54, suppl 5

JL Hadler, P Clogher, S Hurd, Q Phan, M Mandour, K Bemis, R Marcus. Ten-Year Trends and Risk Factors for Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Found Through Shiga Toxin Testing, Connecticut, 2000-2009. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2011;53(3):269-276.

D Hoefer, S Hurd, C Medus, A Cronquist, S Hanna, J Hatch, T Hayes, K Larson, C Nicholson, K Wymore, M Tobin-D'Angelo, N Strockbine, P Snippes, R Atkinson, PM Griffin, LH Gould. Laboratory practices for the identification of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in the United States, FoodNet Sites, 2007. Foodborne 2011;8(4):555-60. Epub 2010 Dec 27.

ME Patrick, BE Mahon, SM Zansky, S Hurd, E Scallan. Riding in shopping carts and exposure to raw meat and poultry products: prevalence of, and factors associated with, this risk factor for salmonella and campylobacter infection in children younger than 3 years. Journal of Food Protection 2011;73(6):1097-100.

C Barton Behravesh, TF Jones, DJ Vugia, C Long, R Marcus, K Smith, S Thomas, S Zansky, KE Fullerton, OL Henao, E Scallan, G FoodNet Working. Deaths Associated With Bacterial Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food: Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), 1996-2005. Journal of Infectious Diseases 2011;204(2):263-267.

LH Gould, C Bopp, N Strockbine, R Atkinson, V Baselski, B Body, R Carey, C Crandall, S Hurd, R Kaplan, M Neill, S Shea, P Somsel, M Tobin-D'Angelo, PM Griffin, P Gerner-Smidt, P Centers for Disease Control and. Recommendations for diagnosis of shiga toxin--producing Escherichia coli infections by clinical laboratories. Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report Recommendations & Reports 2009;58(RR-12):1-14.

R Marcus, S Hurd, L Mank, P Mshar, Q Phan, K Jackson, K Watarida, Y Salfinger, S Kim, ML Ishida, B Kissler. Chicken salad as the source of a case of Listeria monocytogenes infection in Connecticut. Journal of Food Protection 2009;72(12):2602-6.

E Ailes, L Demma, S Hurd, J Hatch, TF Jones, D Vugia, A Cronquist, M Tobin-D'Angelo, K Larson, E Laine, K Edge, S Zansky, E Scallan. Continued decline in the incidence of Campylobacter infections, FoodNet 1996-2006. Foodborne Pathogens & Disease 2008;5(3):329-37.

JA Crump, K Kretsinger, K Gay, RM Hoekstra, DJ Vugia, S Hurd, SD Segler, M Megginson, LJ Luedeman, B Shiferaw, SS Hanna, KW Joyce, ED Mintz, FJ Angulo, NWG Emerging Infections Program FoodNet and. Clinical response and outcome of infection with Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi with decreased susceptibility to fluoroquinolones: a United States foodnet multicenter retrospective cohort study. Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy 2008;52(4):1278-84.

TF Jones, LA Ingram, PR Cieslak, DJ Vugia, M Tobin-D'Angelo, S Hurd, C Medus, A Cronquist, FJ Angulo. Salmonellosis outcomes differ substantially by serotype. Journal of Infectious Diseases 2008;198(1):109-14.

JM Nelson, R Bednarczyk, J Nadle, P Clogher, J Gillespie, A Daniels, M Plantenga, A Ingram, K Edge, JP Furuno, E Scallan, G FoodNet Emerging Infections Program Working. FoodNet survey of food use and practices in long-term care facilities. Journal of Food Protection 2008;71(2):365-72.

Related Links

Government:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – FoodNet: www.cdc.gov/foodnet
National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS): www.cdc.gov/narms
PulseNet: www.cdc.gov/pulsenet
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR): www.cdc.gov/mmwr
Connecticut Department of Public Health: www.dph.state.ct.us/
Gateway to Government Food Safety Information: http://www.foodsafety.gov
Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov
US Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service: http://www.fsis.usda.gov
FSIS Recall Information Center: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/index.asp

Non-Government
Penn State Food Safety http://foodsafety.cas.psu.edu/game.htm
North Carolina State University: www.foodsafetysite.com/
Iowa State University: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/
American Dietetic Association and ConAgra Foods: http://www.homefoodsafety.org/
The Bad Bug Book: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/UCM297627.pdf

Project Contact Person

Sharon Hurd, MPH
Project Coordinator, CT FoodNet
Connecticut Emerging Infections Program
One Church Street, 7th floor
New Haven, CT 06510
sharon.hurd@yale.edu
(203) 764-4362