CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference Dissects Foster Farms Salmonella Outbreak
Antimicrobial resistance is becoming an increasingly hot topic among healthcare professionals, scientists, regulatory personnel, and many in the food industry, especially growers and processors of livestock and poultry. As such, "Antimicrobial Resistance & Advanced Molecular Detection" is a key subject on the agenda at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 63rd Annual Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Conference this week in Atlanta. Tomorrow's program features "Multistate Outbreak of Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella Heidelberg Infections Linked to Foster Farms Brand Chicken," a presentation by researcher Jolene H. Nakao et al.
In their investigation of the ongoing outbreak, which began in March 2013, Nakao and her team found that the outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg are resistant to several commonly prescribed antibiotics. They also warned that this outbreak may be spreading antibiotic resistance to other disease-causing bacteria.