E. Coli Infections Dropped Last Year

By BETSY MCKAY

Infections from a dangerous form of E. coli bacteria dropped significantly last year, in a sign new food-safety measures are starting to pay off, federal health officials reported Thursday.

But food-poisoning rates for most common pathogens have budged little since 2004, with rare exceptions, including that of vibrio, a pathogen found in oysters and clams. Officials said they were trying to figure out why the rate of vibrio infections rose 21% in 2009.

The preliminary numbers were drawn from a national monitoring program for infections in 10 states and released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials said the data underscored the need to work more aggressively to plug holes in the nation's food-safety system.

Legislation that would give the government new powers to police food safety and prevent contamination is working its way through Congress.

The rate of infections from E. coli O157, which can cause bloody diarrhea, kidney failure and death, fell 12% in 2009, hitting its lowest level since 2004 and reaching the government's health target for 2010, the CDC said.

Officials credited new measures to monitor ground-beef processing and produce-growing practices for the decline. For example, as of July all components of raw ground beef are tested, said David Goldman, a USDA food safety and inspection service official.

Salmonella was the most common form of food poisoning identified in the report, the CDC said.

The pathogen has vexed food-safety officials in recent years, cropping up unexpectedly in a growing number of sources, including peanuts in early 2009. While the rate of infections declined 6.2% in 2009, at 15.19 for every 100,000 people, it remained far above a government target of 6.80 for 2010.

"We're quite a ways from that objective. It just shows us we're going to need a concentrated effort on salmonella," said Chris Braden, acting director of the CDC's division of food-borne, water-borne and environmental diseases.

"Salmonella is difficult to control because it can contaminate so many different types of new food," he said.

Measures are being taken to reduce salmonella, officials said, with a new effort to improve the safety of eggs that goes into effect this summer.

The rate of infections caused by shigella bacteria, which causes diarrhea, declined nearly 40%. But those infections are spread mostly by person-to-person contact, commonly in day-care centers, rather than through food. The CDC said the decline could be due in part to regular year-to-year fluctuations.

Officials said they were puzzled about the increase in the rate of vibrio infections, which remained rare but can be deadly. They said they haven't seen a significant increase in shellfish consumption and efforts were under way to improve industry practices.

The CDC estimates there are 76 million cases of food-borne infections annually, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths.