Seizures in Children and Adolescents Aged 6-17 Years - United States, 2010-2014.

Introduction: Millions of U.S. residents become ill from foodborne pathogens each year. Most foodborne outbreaks occuramong small groups of persons in a localized area. However, because many foods are distributed widely and rapidly, andbecause detection methods have improved, outbreaks that occur in multiple states and that even span the entire countryare being recognized with increasing frequency. Methods: This report analyzes data from CDC’s Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System to describe multistatefoodborne outbreaks that occurred in the United States during 2010–2014. Results: During this 5-year period, 120 multistate foodborne disease outbreaks (with identified pathogen and food orcommon setting) were reported to CDC. These multistate outbreaks accounted for 3% (120 of 4,163) of all reportedfoodborne outbreaks, but were responsible for 11% (7,929 of 71,747) of illnesses, 34% (1,460 of 4,247) of hospitalizations,and 56% (66 of 118) of deaths associated with foodborne outbreaks. Salmonella (63 outbreaks), Shiga toxin-producingE. coli (34), and Listeria monocytogenes (12) were the leading pathogens. Fruits (17), vegetable row crops (15), beef (13),sprouts (10), and seeded vegetables (nine) were the most commonly implicated foods. Traceback investigations to identifythe food origin were conducted for 87 outbreaks, of which 55 led to a product recall. Imported foods were linked to 18multistate outbreaks. Conclusions: Multistate foodborne disease outbreaks account for a disproportionate number of outbreak-associatedillnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths relative to their occurrence. Working together, food industries and public healthdepartments and agencies can develop and implement more effective ways to identify and to trace contaminated foodslinked to multistate outbreaks. Lessons learned during outbreak investigations can help improve food safety practicesand regulations, and might prevent future outbreaks.