What CDC and Other Agencies Did in Response to the Outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 Infections From Spinach
September 27, 2006
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How CDC & Other Agencies Responded to the 2006 Spinach Outbreak
- September 27 Update
- September 20 Update
- September 16 Update
NOTE: This document is provided for historical purposes. The content of this document has not been revised since its original release and therefore may no longer be up to date.
CDC has been working collaboratively with state health departments and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to rapidly detect infections, identify the source of the infections, and provide information on treatment of E. coli O157:H7 infections for the public and health care providers. Below are some of the current CDC activities. To learn more about CDC’s previous activities, see the September 16 and September 20 updates on what CDC and other agencies are doing.
- CDC is assisting the Wisconsin Division of Public Health in a case-control study of the E. coli outbreak by conducting phone interviews of individuals who are confirmed to have been infected with E. coli O157:H7 (cases) and individuals who are not infected with E. coli O157:H7 (controls) in Wisconsin. Interviews gathered from the phone interviews were then entered into a common database.
- Over 800 callers participated in the CDC coordinated Clinician Registry and Clinician Outreach and Communication (COCA) call. The call focused on clinician guidance on testing, patient management, and perspectives from physicians and other agencies. For audio from the September 21 E. coli meeting, see the Conference Call page on the COCA website.
- A CDC hydrologist is working with joint FDA and California Department of Health Services (CADHS) Food and Drug Branch field investigation teams in the Salinas area. Investigations into the source of the outbreak focus on farms possibly implicated by tracebacks from cases, and include 188 samples, mostly from the environment sources such as water, products from cultivated fields, and sediment.
- CDC’s public health message has changed from a complete ban on spinach to only spinach grown in three California counties: Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Clara counties. If the product can not be verified from where it was grown, it is advised to not consume the product. See the updated consumer advice.
Close coordination between CDC and FDA continues to provide rapid and consistent health messaging to the medical, public health, and general population.
The outbreak is still going on, and there is still a great deal of epidemiological and laboratory work to be performed quickly to determine the source of the outbreak and to control it. To learn more about the E. coli O157:H7 and the response to the outbreak, see E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak from Fresh Spinach.
Page last modified September 28, 2006
Content source: National Center for Infectious Diseases