Categories: Foodborne
November 18th, 2008 1:59 pm ET -
Ali S. Khan
I’ve spent many years roaming this planet and, without doubt, we have amongst the safest food in the world. However, the largest foodborne outbreak in the last 10 years with an estimated 15, 000 cases is a vivid reminder that a number of factors will continue to drive outbreaks even here in the US. A report on the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak by the Pew Charitable Trust’s Produce Safety Project identified many gaps in the nation’s food safety system and highlights a response system that I equate with driving while looking through the rearview mirror.
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Categories: Vectorborne
October 17th, 2008 1:49 pm ET -
Ali S. Khan
Immunohistochemistry stain of the liver from a fatal case of Lassa Fever.
An active, young Zambian safari guide fell ill last month with an unexplained illness that rapidly progressed to her death after medical evacuation to South Africa. Three additional people who had close contact with her or her body fluids, a paramedic, a nurse and a hospital worker, also shortly became ill — and despite all medical efforts, have also died. A fifth case, also a nurse, is currently hospitalized and receiving Ribavirin treatment. CDC’s unexplained death and severe illness group has supported the Ministry of Health and South African scientists of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) to identify a novel arenavirus as the cause of this medical mystery.
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Categories: Foodborne
July 3rd, 2008 1:20 pm ET -
Ali S. Khan
McDonald’s stopped serving sliced tomatoes on their burgers. Other businesses in the food industry have also recently joined this precautionary movement — actions that follow a trail of health reports all over the United States in what has become one of the largest multistate outbreaks in history.
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Categories: General
May 15th, 2008 4:13 pm ET -
Ali S. Khan
The area surrounding Antananarivo, Madagascar, was not predicted to be a high risk area for Rift Valley Fever this year. Yet as I stepped off the plane from Italy last week, I reviewed a request from the MoH (Madagascar Ministry of Health) through their embassy for U.S. assistance as the epidemic that began in February continues to silently rage in the region.
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Categories: General
May 2nd, 2008 3:36 pm ET -
Ali S. Khan
Just saw an email from Alex Thiermann. Of the twelve countries OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) has corresponded with (Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Philippines, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom), none have observed anything similar to the newly identified brain illness that is linked, curiously, to the practice of blowing pig brains.
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