Foodborne disease outbreaks and case-control studies conducted through the federally funded FoodborneDiseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) have demonstrated important food safety problems atcommercial food establishments. EHS-Net was formed to address this issue. The Minnesota Department ofHealth (MDH) was integrally involved with the formation of EHS-Net, and has been an active and productiveparticipant in the program since its inception. This program has helped MDH bring together a network ofenvironmental health specialists who collaborate with epidemiologiststo identify and preventenvironmentalfactors contributing to foodborne disease. Likewise, EHS-Net has increased the capacity of MDH and localhealth departments to deliver environmental health services in thecommunity. The integration of epidemiology and environmental health with regard to waterborne disease and watersafety has been less complete. Outbreaks due to recreational water are documented rather frequently.Drinking water outbreaks, while documented less frequently, can occur in spectacular fashion and haveenormous public health effects. Two case-control studies of sporadic cryptosporidiosis cases amongMinnesota residents have identified well water consumption as a risk factor. Thus, more in-depth publichealth evaluation of drinking water safety is clearly needed. MDH's overall objectives with regard to EHS-Net are as follows: 1) to continue to use the program toidentify food safety problems in commercial food establishment in Minnesota and to identify and implementpractical prevention measures to mitigate these problems; and 2) to develop an EHS-Net program to identifypublic health problems associated with water, particularly drinking water from small systems, and to identifyand implement prevention measures to reduce the occurrence of waterborne disease.
Specific aims with regard to food and drinkingwater safety include: 1) to monitor and document riskfactors and prevention policies during outbreaks and routine environmental health inspections; 2) to conductapplied behavioral, environmental, epidemiologic, and laboratory research on factors contributingto diseasetransmission; 3) to evaluate food and drinking water safety service programs and their activities; 4) toimplement and evaluate pilot prevention and interventionprojects; and 5) to develop and disseminate theresults of network activities and projects to the environmental and public health communities. Food safetyactivities will include completion of ongoing studies and initiationof new studies as determined by the EHS-Net Steering Committee. Proposed water safety activities include a detailed description of drinking water?rograms and activities in Minnesota for small, non-Safe Drinking Water Act Sources, and detailed studies to ivaluate the potential relationship of human cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis cases to these systems.
| Robinson, Trisha J; Cebelinski, Elizabeth A; Taylor, Charlott et al. (2010) Evaluation of the positive predictive value of rapid assays used by clinical laboratories in Minnesota for the diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis. Clin Infect Dis 50:e53-5 |
