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Food borne infections are more common than we think.
But one of the biggest challenges is figuring
out which foods cause those illnesses.
One of my most memorable outbreak investigations started
with investigators in Oregon and Wisconsin calling me
to describe an unusual number
of E.coli infections among children.
We worked hard for the next two days
to connect the DNA fingerprints of E.coli from those children
with information about the foods
that they ate prior to becoming ill.
We identified spinach as the culprit which led
to an international recall of fresh bagged spinach from fields
where wild pigs likely contaminated the spinach
in the fields.
There were over 200 victims in this outbreak from 24 states.
40 people suffered kidney failure and five people died.
But I know that many illnesses were prevented not only
because of fast action
to get contaminated spinach off the market shelves,
but also because of important improvements in the industry
to make these foods safer.
And yes, you still need to eat your vegetables.