Latest findings on norovirus, leading cause of disease outbreaks from contaminated food in the US

New CDC Vital Signs Report Preventing norovirus infections, food service has a key role Norovirus often gets attention for outbreaks on cruise ships, but those account for only about 1% of all reported norovirus outbreaks. Norovirus is highly contagious and is the leading cause of disease outbreaks from contaminated food in the United States. Infected food workers are often the source. June's CDC Vital Signs report presents CDC's latest findings on reported norovirus outbreaks from contaminated food and highlights key recommendations to help the food service industry prevent such outbreaks.

Get more information: Vital Signs MMWR: Foodborne Norovirus Outbreaks — United States, 2009–2012 Vital Signs – Preventing Norovirus Outbreaks [PODCAST - 1:15 minutes] CDC Telebriefing and Transcript –How can we prevent norovirus outbreaks from contaminated food? CDC Digital Press Kit CDC: Norovirus Vital Signs - Cómo prevenir los brotes de norovirus (en Español) CDC Features: Prevent the Spread of Norovirus

Outbreaks! Recent investigations of foodborne outbreaks reported on CDC.gov: Organic Sprouted Chia Powder – Salmonella Newport(Announced May 2014) Raw Clover Sprouts – E. coli O121 (Announced May 2014) Ground Beef – E. coli O157:H7 (Announced May 2014) Live Poultry – Salmonella Infantis and Newport (Announced May 2014) Read how CDC investigates foodborne outbreaks. Read full reports of CDC's Annual Summaries of Foodborne Outbreaks.

Publications New data on foodborne disease outbreaks, norovirus, and E. coli Surveillance Summaries:  Two new CDC reports for2011 and 2012 help show the human impact of foodborne disease outbreaks.      -   Read CDC feature on new data at CDC.gov.          -   Read CDC feature on new data at Yahoo! Health. Norovirus: Vital Signs: Foodborne Norovirus Outbreaks — United States, 2009–2012 E. coli: National Patterns of Escherichia coli O157 infections, United States, 1996–2011

Partners New web site launched for tri-agency group, Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC) IFSAC is teaming across agencies to improve coordination of federal food safety analytic efforts and estimates of foodborne illness sources. Recently, IFSAC--a partnership between CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Food Safety Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture--expanded on the previously used food categories used to estimate attribution. The addition of more botanically correct categories better reflects production practices and postharvest handling systems, and more readily distinguishes FDA- and FSIS-regulated products. Learn more about IFSAC. Learn more about IFSAC's completed projects, including the expanded food catefories used to estimate attribution.

Good-to-Know Info Recent research shows that over half of reported foodborne outbreaks occur in restaurants. Follow these four simple tips to prevent food poisoning when eating out. 1.      Check inspection scores 2.      Make sure the restaurant is clean 3.      Check that your food is cooked thoroughly 4.      Properly handle your leftovers   See CDC’s new “Protect Yourself When Eating Out” infographic to learn more about how you can protect yourself and your family from food poisoning.