Public Health Cuts Threaten Food Safety
Nearly ten years of progress to improve how the nation prevents, identifies, and contains E. coli 0157:H7 outbreaks, other disease outbreaks and bioterrorism threats faces erosion due to widespread cuts in public health spending.
That is the thrust of the "Ready or Not 2010" report released this week by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report notes that almost a decade of gains since 2001 is in real jeopardy due to severe budget cuts by federal, state, and local governments. "The economic recession has led to cuts in public health staffing and eroded the basic capabilities of state and local health departments, which are needed to successfully respond to crises.''.jpg)
A report summary said 33 states and Washington, D.C. cut public health funding from fiscal years (FY) 2008-09 to 2009-10, with 18 of these states cutting funding for the second year in a row. The report also notes that just eight states raised funding for two or more consecutive years. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has found that states have experienced overall budgetary shortfalls of $425 billion since FY 2009.
While states are struggling, federal support for public health preparedness has been cut by 27 percent since FY 2005 (adjusted for inflation), the report said. Local public health departments report losing 23,000 jobs - totaling 15 percent of the local public health workforce - since January 2008.
From a food safety standpoint, we all depend on public health staffing to monitor and detect the cause of E. coli 0157:H7 outbreaks, Salmonella outbreaks, Listeria outbreaks and outbreaks caused by other dangerous human pathogens. In fact, the entire national monitoring system for detection and tracebacks relies on close communication between doctors' offices, local, state and federal agencies with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The reporting and traceback systems must be preserved to minimize outbreaks and to hold those who distribute poisoned food accountable for their actions with food safety lawsuits.
Some key findings on the vulnerabilities in the nation's public health preparedness include:
- Seven states cannot currently share data electronically with health care providers.
- Ten states do not have an electronic syndromic surveillance system that can report and exchange information to rapidly detect disease outbreaks.
- The United States has 50,000 fewer public health workers than it did 20 years ago - and one-third of current workers are eligible to retire within five years.
The report also looked at findings from a recently released report from the CDC based on activities in 2007-08 that focus on emergency operations and food outbreak identification.: 21 states were not able to rapidly identify disease-causing E.coli O157:H7 and submit the lab results in 90 percent of cases within four days.
Click here to read the entire Ready or Not 2010 report.
