Conventionally raised poultry harbored nearly twice as much multidrug-resistant Salmonella as meat from antibiotic-free poultry.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) late last week released a summary of foodborne illnesses in 2017 based on an annual analysis of data from the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System, and norovirus was the most common pathogen reported, responsible for 46% of illnesses. Salmonella and Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli were also linked to a substantial number of outbreaks.
A new study by scientists from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has found similar levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pork chops from pigs raised without antibiotics and those raised conventionally.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) said in its latest update today that four countries reported a total of eight new polio cases in the previous week, including vaccine-derived polio cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic.
Two new cases of wild poliovirus in Afghanistan and several cases of vaccine-derived polio in a handful of other countries were noted today in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative's (GPEI's) weekly update. Myanmar, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Ethiopia all recorded vaccine-derived cases.
In the latest global polio developments, Pakistan reported five more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases, while two African nations—Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—reported more positive circulating vaccine-derived polio type 2 (cVDPV2) detections. The details appear today in the weekly update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
"The antibiotic resistance pattern of this strain is alarming," a CDC expert says.
Officials have confirmed 127 cases in 33 states, and 26 people have been hospitalized.
Almost 500 cases are tied to backyard poultry, and nearly 100 infections are linked to dog treats.
In an interview with The Guardian, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said the political climate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is preventing an end to the current Ebola outbreak.