Preamble
E.Coli outbreaks across the United States are a serious and life-threating issue. There is a serious need to take practical, realistic measures that are achievable to reduce the risk of outbreaks.
E. coli O157:H7 is frequently found on the hide, hoofs and in the digestive tracts of cattle. As a result of this, meat can potentially be contaminated during the slaughter and processing of the meat. Since E. coli O157:H7 contamination can cause serious human illness, it is critical to reduce this risk during slaughter and processing.
Background
• Escherichia coli, usually referred to as E. coli, is a large group of bacteria that is commonly found in the intestines of humans and animals. Many strains of E. coli are harmless, however some strains, such as E. coli O157: H7, are extremely harmful to humans. E. coli
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coli when animals are being slaughtered or processed, even if precautions are taken. E.Coli can spread throughout the meat in the processing or grounding of meat, which can lead to high contamination levels throughout the plant.
• Symptoms of E. coli infection usually start within about 3 to 4 days after exposure, but can be as little as 1 day or as long as 10 days.
Issue
To reduce the risk of Escherichia Coli (E.Coli 0157) in the United States through identification of proper policy action.
Recommendations
The job of this policy is to anticipate where E.Coli O157:H7 contamination takes place and outline control measure that will efficiently control the risk of them happening in the future. A proper legal framework must be put in place and there must be significant consequences for those who reject to follow the outlined measures.
1) Preventing E.Coli 0157:H7 contamination during slaughtering
• Inspectors must be present during the dressing processes, were they will be inspecting the cattle and its parts. Along with ensuring plant employees are taking the required measures to prevent
ABSTRACT: Water samples from local ponds and lakes and snow runoff were collected and tested for coliform as well as Escherichia coli. Humans as well as animals come into contact with these areas, some are used for recreational activities such as swimming and some are a source of drinking water for both animals and humans The main goal of this experiment was to see which lakes, snow run off and ponds tested positive for coliform or Escherichia coli and to come up with some reasoning as to why. It was found that the more remote pond with less contact contained the most Escherichia coli. However, another lake that many swim in and use as their drinking water indeed tested positive for a small amount of Escherichia coli. The two samples from the snow showed negative results for both coliform and Escherichia coli and the two more public ponds that aren’t as commonly used as a source of human drinking water but animal drinking water tested in the higher range for coliforms but in the little to no Escherichia coli range. It was concluded that the remote pond should be avoided as it’s not a safe source of drinking water for humans or animals. Other than that, the the other ponds are likely to be safe from Escherichia coli, but coliforms are a risk factor.
Symptoms, which include diarrhea and abdominal pain, usually begin two to eight days after a person has been exposed to the bacteria and resolve within a week.
Escherichia coli is a member of the family Enterobacteriaceae. It is a bacterium with a cell wall that has many components. Escherichia coli can live without oxygen which means that it is a facultative anaerobe. It is also capable of fermenting lactose under anaerobic conditions, and in the absence of alternative electron acceptors. There are effects and various factors that limit its growth rate. Its morphology consists of a rod-shaped gram negative bacteria that is commonly found in soil, water, vegetation, human intestines, as well as the intestines of animals. Its presence can be good or bad.
Nestle, Marion. Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003.
This condition can spread from one person to another (contagious). Toxin-producing E. coli can also spread from animals to humans. Most cases of E. coli infection come from cattle.
The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was an attempt to regulate the meatpacking industry and to assure consumers that the meat they were eating was safe. In brief, this act made compulsory the careful inspection of meat before its consummation, established sanitary standards for slaughterhouses and processing plants, and required continuous U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection of meat processing and packaging. Yet, the most important objectives set by the law are the prevention of adulterated or misbranded livestock and products from being commercialized and sold as food, and the making sure that meat and all its products are processed and prepared in the adequate sanitary and hygienic conditions (Reeves 35). Imported meat and its various products are no exception to these conditions; they must be inspected under equivalent foreign standards.
E. Coli is a bacteria that is inside your intestines that helps you break down food. When cows are fed corn, it also decreases the healthy acids such as Omega-3 and increases Omega-6 which is unhealthy. We should also care about their living conditions because a cow is in one area for most of the day just eating corn and when cows eat corn they tend to poop a lot. It is crowded in the eating area for cows so when they poop it falls on the ground and they eat so much corn that they just keep pooping so eventually they start stepping in it and this would cause them to get diseases. Some farmers when they slaughter them do check for diseases but some don’t, so the diseases travel with the cow and onto your dinner plate which means that you could be eating an infected cow without knowing it.
Viruses in the ocean, as products of human activities, are potentially dangerous contaminants of many coastal waters. Total coliform bacteria are a collection of relatively harmless microorganisms that live in large numbers in the intestines of man and warm- and cold-blooded animals. They aid in the digestion of food. A specific subgroup of this collection is the fecal coliform bacteria, the most common member being Escherichia coli or E.Coli. These organisms may be separated from the total coliform group by their ability to grow at elevated temperatures and are associated only with the fecal material or warm-blooded animals. Fecal Coliform is the bacterium that forms in water from fece of humans and other warm-blooded animals. These types of feces can enter directly by animals, such as birds, by discharging into river. Feces also enter water by agricultural and storm run off carrying animal waste, and human sewage discharge.(www.stale.ky.us) The presence of fecal coliform bacteria in aquatic environments indicates that the water has been contaminated with the fecal material of man or other animals. Fecal coliform is not dangerous itself. Its the pathogens that may be found along with fecal coliform that is harmful. Human pathogenic viruses are not only found in the millions of gallons of variously treated human wastes dumped directly into coastal waters from sewage outfalls, but also from runoff from numberous storm drain sewers. Fecal coliform measures are important because they can help determine the probability of contracting a disease from the water. So, the more fecal coliform, the higher the probability of a disease causing bacteria being found in the water.
E. Coli and other foodborne illnesses are something that should be of major concern to everybody, becasue nobody is safe from it. It is not something that can be prevented or
During the event of a communicable disease outbreak, as a human services administrator, I would take all of the necessary steps to communicate to youths, parents and medical staff in a timely and efficient manner. My priority would be to isolate the disease as much as possible and to assist those that have been infected with getting the treatment that they need (Graham-Clay, 2005). In the event that there is an outbreak of a disease such as E-coli within a local high school, I would begin by notifying the medical staff immediately. Considering the fact that Ecoli is a food borne illness, it is considered to be a public health crisis and should be handled as such. There are three recognized phases of a crisis: prevention, preparedness, and recovery. Each of these phases requires planned communication strategies. An outbreak often creates a high-emotion, low-trust situation (Heymann, 2004).
Over the past few years there has been several cases of food contaminated with Escherichia Coli and Salmonella, mostly from organic food manufacturers. For a better understanding of this issue it is necessary to go back to the basis for organic agriculture. Which is essentially about the nutrients needed for the soil and its direct relation to the quality of the product. The more nutrients are added to the substrate the better the quality of that product. Farmers replace synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides for natural alternate methods, using fertilizers based on decomposed organic matter like Humus and Compost. Among the active components found in this products are animal feces which contain harmful parasites that could be transmitted to the plants. Several studies support this statement; an evaluation from the University of Minnesota revealed that “the percentages of E.coli–positive samples in conventional and organic produce (on farms in Minnesota), were 1.6 and 9.7%, respectively” (Mukherjee, Speh, Dyck, Diez-Gonzalez,
E. Coli 0157, written by Mary Heersink, is a nerve-racking, adrenaline-filled story of a mother's experience with a then unknown deadly bacteria. The book brings up many reactions in its readers, especially the questioning of the practice of doctors in hospitals. The reader's knowledge base of scientific procedures in emergency centers was widened as well as the knowledge of how to the human body reacts to different agents in its system.
However, health concerned organizations want to ban the use of these products due to the increasing fears that they can cause harm to the consumers. For over 50 years, antibiotics have been added to the food of animals such as poultry, cattle and pigs. The main purpose for doing so is to lower the risk of disease in animals. Farm animals are housed together in overcrowded areas, which are very dirty. The hygiene level can get to such a poor state that they are often in contact with their own excreta as well as excreta of the other animals they are housed with and because of tight single air space they share, the likelihood of catching diseases from one another is further increased and very often a whole heard can be infected at one time.
“People can become infected with antibiotic bacteria from a variety of resources. [such as] meat or other foods. if not properly cooked [and] workers who have contact with animals at factory farms.” (Gale, 2013). The fact that there are chances for people to get sick from their most desired foods shows how bad factory farming can be.
Salmonella is also a bacterium that is widespread in the intestines of birds, reptiles, and mammals. It can spread to the human species a variety of different ways; through foods or animal origins. Some examples of food involved in outbreaks are eggs, poultry and other meats, raw milk and chocolate. The illnesses it causes are typically fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. In people with poor underlying health or weakened immune...