Education key in fighting foodborne illnesses

A free, updated primer for physicians highlights newly identified pathogens, provides resources for patients and offers CME credit.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. April 26, 2004.

Washington -- Public health officials are now more quickly able to identify outbreaks of foodborne illness by genetically connecting the dots that represent individual cases. But they rely on primary care physicians to supply those important dots.

It is often the report of an astute physician that leads to the detection of an outbreak and its rapid containment, said Arthur P. Liang, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Food Safety Initiative.

Physicians hold a vital position in recognizing foodborne illnesses -- no small matter, as more than 200 diseases are known to be transmitted through food -- and educating patients on the need for food safety.

"Understanding this important role will help health professionals recognize the necessity of testing patients with gastrointestinal symptoms for foodborne illnesses and will lead to earlier detection," said AMA Trustee Cecil B. Wilson, MD, an internist from Winter Park, Fla.

Foodborne illnesses affect 76 million Americans every year -- even more than the common cold -- causing 300,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, said Dr. Wilson.

On April 7, Dr. Liang, Dr. Wilson and others released an updated edition of a free primer for physicians on diagnosing and managing foodborne illnesses.

The primer, a collaborative effort by the AMA, the American Nurses Assn., the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the Dept. of Agriculture, includes sections on newly identified foodborne illnesses as well as information on the intentional contamination of food and water -- a heightened concern as a result of stepped-up terrorism awareness.