Strategies for rapid response to emerging foodborne microbial hazards

The foodborne outbreak paradigm has shifted. In the past, an outbreak affected a small local population, had a high attack rate, and involved locally prepared food products with limited distribution. Now outbreaks involve larger populations and may be multistate and even international; in many the pathogenic organism has a low infective dose and sometimes is never isolated from the food product. Delay in identifying the causative agent can allow the outbreak to spread, increasing the number of cases. Emergency intervention should be aimed at controlling the outbreak, stopping exposure, and perhaps more importantly, preventing future outbreaks. Using epidemiologic data and investigative techniques may be the answer. Even with clear statistical associations to a contaminated food, one must ensure that the implicated organism could logically and biologically have been responsible for the outbreak.