Foodborne Disease: Finding the Common Thread - or Leafy Green Vegetable (Grand Rounds 2007)

Advances in molecular epidemiology have dramatically enhanced our ability to detect and fix problems in our food and water supplies that formerly would have gone unnoticed. Recent outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. associated with fresh produce are good examples. In spite of these advances, the burden of foodborne and diarrheal disease remains substantial, both nationally and globally. John Besser, Manager of the Clinical Laboratory at the Minnesota Department of Health, will discuss and focus on systems used to detect and investigate problems in the food supply.