New food-borne illness guide released.

2004 MAY 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new educational guide has been released for health care professionals on how to identify and treat food-borne illnesses, as well as consumer tips for patients.

"Approximately 76 million Americans suffer from a food-borne illness every year, and 5,000 deaths each year are attributed to food-borne illness," said Cecil B. Wilson, MD, American Medical Association Trustee.

"Health care professionals are the front-line of prevention. Arming physicians with the latest information on food-borne illnesses helps them better diagnose and treat their patients."

The primer, "Diagnosis and Management of Foodborne Illnesses: A Primer for Physicians and Other Health Care Professionals," contains charts, scenarios, and a continuing medical education section and is free to health care professionals.

The primer, initially introduced in 2001, contains five new sections on new and re-emerging food-borne illnesses and was written with an emphasis on living in the post 9/11 environment.

"Recent concerns about hepatitis A and norovirus outbreaks have emphasized the need for health professionals to be vigilant for food-borne pathogens, and this need is further emphasized by concerns about intentional contamination of food," said David Acheson, MD, director of the Office of Food Safety at U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

"The new primer will assist physicians and other health care professionals to be aware of what to look for in relation to food-borne disease, whether accidental or deliberate."