The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) works with state and local health departments to conduct ongoing surveillance of cases of foodborne illness and to investigate disease outbreaks. The CDC uses both surveillance data and results of outbreak investigations to identify the factors responsible for illness so that immediate control measures can be taken and longer term prevention strategies can be developed. The CDC's role in measuring the success of interventions is to see whether they translate into reductions in the incidence of human cases of foodborne illness.
Chronology of CDC Involvement in an E. coli Outbreak
- The first response in an E. coli outbreak is usually from the state or local health department.
- If the outbreak warrants, the state health department will invite the CDC to participate in the investigation. This is warranted if an outbreak is very large or significant, is thought to involve an unusual pathogen or unexpected food vehicle, affects multiple states or countries, or preliminary investigations do not reveal a source.
- The CDC, working with state and local health officials, combines laboratory diagnostic techniques and epidemiologic investigative methods to determine the causative agent of the illness, the food vehicle responsible for transmission, and the environmental factors that contributed to the outbreak.
- If a food is identified as the source of illness, the CDC collaborates with the FDA or USDA on the investigation and control of the outbreak, based upon which agency regulates the suspected food.
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