Foodborne Illness Statistics
There are an estimated 76 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States every year. Most of these cases are mild, but approximately 325,000 result in hospitalization, and 5,000 are fatal. The more serious cases tend to occur among children, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems.
There are more than 250 different foodborne diseases. This includes infections caused by bacteria, viruses, prions and parasites, as well as poisonings caused by toxins which have contaminated the food. The most common foodborne illnesses are caused by the bacteria Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli O157:H7, and by calciviruses. However, the variety of foodborne pathogens is in constant flux. One result of globalization is that new pathogens spread easily around the world. Many also have extremely fast life cycles, meaning that they can evolve quickly.
Three individual pathogens, Salmonella, Listeria and Toxoplasma, are together responsible for 1,500 deaths every year. This represents more than three-quarters of the deaths for which a known pathogen can be identified as the cause. The Vibrio, Listeria, Brucella and Botulism bacteria have the highest rates of fatalities among those infected. Vibrio vulnificus, an infection-causing bacterium often contracted through eating seafood, is the most deadly known foodborne pathogen tracked by the CDC; the fatality rate is 39 percent. Fortunately, V. vulnificus is quite rare in the United States, representing only 1% of deaths caused by foodborne illness. Unknown agents are estimated to cause 81 percent of foodborne illnesses and 64 percent of deaths.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest maintains a database of foodborne illness outbreaks involving multiple victims in the U.S. Their recent report, Outbreak Alert! 2008, identified 5,778 outbreaks between 1990 and 2006. The report finds that foodborne illness outbreaks are most often associated with seafood (1,140 outbreaks), produce (768 outbreaks), poultry (620), beef (518) and eggs (351).
Their data also indicate that the number of reported foodborne illness outbreaks has gradually increased since 1999. Foodborne illness outbreaks are most commonly caused by bacteria, which are responsible for 60 percent of outbreaks. Viruses account for another 24 percent, and chemicals and toxins cause 15 percent. Outbreaks caused by parasites are rare, except among those linked to wild game.
Sources:
CDC Foodborne Illness FAQ
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/files/foodborne_illness_FAQ.pdf
Food-related Illness and Death in the United
States
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/Vol5no5/mead.htm
Outbreak Alert! 2008
http://www.cspinet.org//pdf/outbreak_alert_2008_report_final.pdf
