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BACKGROUND: Exposure to the dinoflagellate Pfiesteria has, under certain circumstances, been associated with deficits in human learning and memory. However, uncertainties remain about the health risk of chronic, low-level exposures (as seen among occupationally exposed commercial fishermen), particularly in light of studies suggesting that Pfiesteria strains are widespread in the estuarine environment in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region. METHODS: We selected an initial cohort of 152 persons, including 123 persons with regular, occupational exposure to the Chesapeake Bay; 107 of the cohort members were followed for the full four summer ‘seasons’ of the study. Cohort members were questioned biweekly about symptoms, and data were collected about the areas of the bay in which they worked. These latter data were matched with data on the presence or absence of Pfiesteria in each area, based on polymerase chain reaction analysis of > 3,500 water samples. Cohort members underwent neuropsychological testing at the beginning and end of each summer season. RESULTS: No correlation was found between work in an area where Pfiesteria was identified and specific symptomatology or changes on neuropsychological tests. CONCLUSIONS: Although high-level or outbreak-associated exposure to Pfiesteria species (or specific strains within a species) may have an effect on health, routine occupational exposure to estuarine environments in which these organisms are present does not appear to pose a significant health risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification and prioritization of effective food safety interventions require an understanding of the relationship between food and pathogen from farm to consumption. Critical to this cause is food attribution, the capacity to attribute cases of foodborne disease to the food vehicle or other source responsible for illness. A wide variety of food attribution approaches and data are used around the world, including the analysis of outbreak data, case-control studies, microbial subtyping and source tracking methods, and expert judgment, among others. The Food Safety Research Consortium sponsored the Food Attribution Data Workshop in October 2003 to discuss the virtues and limitations of these approaches and to identify future options for collecting food attribution data in the United States. We summarize workshop discussions and identify challenges that affect progress in this critical component of a risk-based approach to improving food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In May 1998, three large outbreaks of salmonellosis, affecting 91 persons, were identified in the Republic of Georgia. Eighteen Salmonella Typhimurium strains were characterized by arbitrary primed polymerase chain reaction and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis; the results suggested that all cases were part of a single outbreak caused by a distinct clonal strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Data were obtained for the 96 hospitalized cases of infant botulism reported to the Center for Disease Control between 1976-1980 from all states other than California. Forty-one cases were associated with Clostridium botulinum type A. 53 with type B, one with type F, and one with a strain of C. botulinum capable of producing both type B and F toxin. Cases occurred in 25 states the disease was more common in the western part of the United states, with the highest attack rates reported for utah and New Mexico. Birth weights of hospitalized infants with infant botulism tended to be high compared with birth-weights in the united States population. Mothers of infants with infant botulism tended to be older and better educated than mothers in the general population. Seventy per ¢ of infants had been predominantly breast-fed; breast-feeding in type B cases was associated with a significantly older age at onset of illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses articles on the pathogens associated with the prevalence of foodborne illness in the U.S., by Scallan and colleagues, published within the issue. He provides an overview of the articles, one of which focused on major food pathogens, while the other estimated foodborne illnesses caused by unknown pathogens. He then commends the articles' authors for providing additional information on food pathogens and foodborne illnesses. He also cites the relevance of the articles to the U.S. food safety system.

Reports on learning and memory difficulties after environmental exposure to waterways in Maryland containing toxin-producing Pfiesteria or Pfiesteria-like dinoflagellates. Methods of assessing the 24 people; Results showing people with high exposure were more likely than occupationally matched controls to complain of neuropsychological symptoms, including forgetfulness; Interpretation that exposure leads to risk of developing a reversible clinical syndrome of higher cognitive function difficulties.