Hmmm... I wonder where the (next) pandemic will come from???

This is pretty nasty stuff... It also shows how proper food preparation is so necessary. E. coli in veggies and C. diff in meat. Once these bacteria get out into the general population, who know what will happen.

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It used to be the bug found only in hospitals. And while C. difficile has been causing doctors concern for a long time, it's only recently that a new and disturbing wrinkle has been added.
C. difficile is a bug that forms in the intestines of people who are taking antibiotics. The drugs kill off the kind of bacteria that's normally in our systems, allowing what's often called "c. diff" to run rampant.

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Where is it coming from? Authorities suspect it could be in the food we eat, after traces of the bug were found in processed meats sold in both the U.S. and Canada. And while it used to be a problem mainly for the elderly and the frail, more young people appear to be contracting it.

It's already believed responsible for at least 2,000 deaths in Quebec between 2003 and 2004. And outbreaks have also been noted in B.C., the U.S. and Europe.

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E. coli outbreak is only the latest example of how politics affects food.

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Now that at least 120 people in 21 states have been sickened by an E. coli outbreak linked to spinach, FDA inspectors are flocking to the vast fields of central California like vultures over road kill.

Too bad the FDA was not as vigilant before the outbreak....

Congress also shares some of the blame for the increasing number of agricultural contamination cases in this country.

For example, the House voted 283-139 in March to overturn up to 200 state food safety and labeling laws, a bill pushed by a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign from the processed food industry but opposed by 39 state attorneys general and others. ...

After all, the recent contamination of spinach is not an isolated case. In fact, the current food-poisoning episode is the 20th since 1995 linked to spinach or lettuce alone. ...

In the United States, as many as 5,000 people die and 325,000 are hospitalized annually as a result of ingesting bacterial and viral pathogens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ...

Maria Margaronis, a London-based editor of the Nation, wrote in 1999 that a series of food-safety scandals were caused by deregulation and overintensive production.

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Don't we import like 90 percent of our veggies from the U.S. ?.

[ 16 October 2006: Message edited by: Fidel ]

Or grow your own, and don't use pesticides. Or grow hydroponically in your house, if you have no garden space (it's amazing how much you can grow in a small space). Or buy only from local producers you know use good practices. For meat especially.

As per your statement regarding imports from the USA, here are some stats for your digestive system.
Table 10. Value of Canada's food manufacturing imports, by country of origin, 1995 to 2002 - Sources: Statistics Canada and Industry Canada
Canadian (food) exports and imports

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The $3.2 billion increase in food imports from the United States was more than offset by the $7.4 billion increase in food exports by Canada to the United States, a whopping 21% average annual increase between 1995 and 2002.

Canada has also increased imports from Brazil by $201 million (79%) between 1995 and 2002, China $183 million (60%), Thailand $139 million (46%), and France $59 million (68%). With the exception of France, imports from the rest of the EU have remained largely unchanged since 1995 with respect to Canada's major European trading partners.

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Canada - northern giant among fruit and vegetable importers

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The link between the two countries is strong. The United States also accounts for the lion's share of Canadian imports. In 1991, over 60 percent of fruit, 90 percent of vegetables and 55 percent of tree nuts imported into Canada were from the United States.

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[ 18 October 2006: Message edited by: Sans Tache ]

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Snips:
Hand washing is also a cheap and easy way for hospitals to cut infection rates by 30 percent or more, she said.
"Combine poor hand hygiene with sicker patients and more surgical procedures, and you get a perfect equation setting patients up for infections," McGuckin said.
All the experts agreed that patients could help reduce hospital infections by becoming informed consumers of care. That means asking their doctors about rates of infections and other complications.

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Has anyone noticed that when there's a problem with meat, like e-coli, the government and meat industry (especially in the US, but here too) go out of their way to soothe fears, and politicians go on TV and eat hamburgers, etc.

But oh, when it's spinach! Nobody eat spinach again! It's got e-coli! Vegetables are unsafe! And now they're even investigating spinach farmers to see if charges should be pressed.

From what I understand, the source of e-coli is MEAT, not vegetables. And e-coli in our food supply, whether we get it from meat or vegetables, can be directly linked to the animal food industry. But imagine if the government were to investigate that. The world would end.

[ 07 December 2006: Message edited by: Michelle ]

[ 10 December 2006: Message edited by: Southlander ]

PVL: New strain of superbug targets the young, and its latest victim is an NHS nurse

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It is the first time that the toxic strain of the superbug, known as PVL-producing MRSA, has caused infection and deaths in a hospital, the agency said. The outbreak has alarmed public health officials who say it could pose risks for staff as well as patients. The toxic PVL strain has previously been detected only in small outbreaks among healthy children and young people. It attacks the white blood cells, destroys tissue and can cause boils up to 3 inches (10cms) across.
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Government guidelines urge doctors and nurses to wash their hands thoroughly between each patient. But a recent study by researchers from the University of Hertfordshire showed that 88 per cent of staff failed to wash properly, even when dealing with infected patients. A separate study said efforts to tackle infection rates by improving the cleanliness of wards were failing because of poor hygiene.

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Originally posted by Southlander:
So I got a blood sample taken yeasterday, and she washed her hands, but isn't it supposed to take 2 minutes? What do we say when it doesn't?

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Good question...
Usually the soap they use in hospitals and clinics has a degree of anticeptic (although I would prefer they aceptic practices) products mixed in. Any hand washing is better than none but as you can see often the medical community does not wash often enough. I would prefer the medical practicianer put on gloves.

Here is a reason why children should be kept out of hospitals like they wre in the old days.

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A 2005 study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center found that nearly 10 percent of children in the U.S. carry drug-resistant Staph bacteria in their noses. In 2002, only 1 percent carried the germ.

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