Word: coli
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...springs. If even a single animal did wander in, any feces it left behind could have been washed into the water supply by spring rains. Bacteria in the feces would have moved through the Alpine pipes in a single foul rush and then drained away. "Once the E. coli hit town it was at once everywhere," Breuer says. And then, just as quickly, it was gone...
Hoping for similar good fortune in the future is not the best way to fight the microbe. Until a drug treatment is available, the best answer is prevention, and several groups are taking action. Alfalfa seeds, which have been implicated in past E. coli outbreaks, are now being irradiated to kill bacteria, and last year the Food and Drug Administration gave the cattle industry the green light to treat meat the same way. The procedure is generally effective, but critics are uneasy, questioning whether it's ever a good idea to irradiate something consumers are intended to ingest...
More effective than cleaning food after it's been contaminated is preventing it from getting dirty in the first place. Already public health advocates are calling for stricter standards in slaughterhouses and tighter inspection procedures to keep E. coli-contaminated meat out of the food chain. While this has been a common refrain in the past after outbreaks of salmonella and other food-borne pathogens, the severity of the O157 outbreaks may at last prod the government into action. President Clinton is proposing a modest $100 million in new funding to improve food safety, but he is still meeting resistance...
Until Washington does bestir itself, consumers must look after themselves. All fresh vegetables--including packaged, so-called triple-washed vegetables--should be thoroughly cleaned. Steaks can be safely eaten relatively rare, since E. coli is typically found only on the surface of food, and cooking will generally kill it. Hamburger is another matter. Grinding beef distributes bacteria throughout the patty, so the only safe burger is a well-done burger...
...human-to-human infection, common sense is the rule. Hand washing after bathroom trips was a good idea when the fiercest E. coli was ordinary E. coli; with O157 at large, it's even more important. Parents should take similar precautions when changing diapers, and diaper-age babies should not go into swimming pools. Even in wading pools, toddlers should wear a waterproof bathing-suit liner...