tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
A month after an outbreak of deadly illness caused by a rare strain of E. coli killed 50 people in Germany and France, Burmese Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have announced that they have discovered evidence of the bacteria in Burma.
FDA officials said that they found E. coli during restaurant inspections in various parts of the country, but provided no details about where and when the discoveries were made.
They also hastened to add that the samples they found were not the same variety of enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) that created a major health emergency in Europe in June.
?It is not a kind of EHEC that can threaten people's lives, but people need to clean food and vegetables very carefully in order to prevent the bacteria. It is also necessary to educate workers from livestock farms and butchers about good hygienic practices,? Dr Kyaw Lin, the director of the FDA, told reporters recently in Rangoon.
A physician from Rangoon said that the health authorities should educate the public about E. coli, which can cause diarrhea, food poisoning and other diseases. The bacteria can be contracted by consuming raw vegetables, meat and milk.
On June 10, health officials in neighboring Thailand announced that they found E. coli in the country. The bacteria reportedly originated from avocados imported from the European Union.
Burmese authorities rarely announce detailed information about the spread of infectious diseases in the country, although state-run media did cover the outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in 2007.
Caption: Burma?s FDA officials said that they found E. coli during restaurant inspections in various parts of the country.
http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21688
FDA officials said that they found E. coli during restaurant inspections in various parts of the country, but provided no details about where and when the discoveries were made.
They also hastened to add that the samples they found were not the same variety of enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) that created a major health emergency in Europe in June.
?It is not a kind of EHEC that can threaten people's lives, but people need to clean food and vegetables very carefully in order to prevent the bacteria. It is also necessary to educate workers from livestock farms and butchers about good hygienic practices,? Dr Kyaw Lin, the director of the FDA, told reporters recently in Rangoon.
A physician from Rangoon said that the health authorities should educate the public about E. coli, which can cause diarrhea, food poisoning and other diseases. The bacteria can be contracted by consuming raw vegetables, meat and milk.
On June 10, health officials in neighboring Thailand announced that they found E. coli in the country. The bacteria reportedly originated from avocados imported from the European Union.
Burmese authorities rarely announce detailed information about the spread of infectious diseases in the country, although state-run media did cover the outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in 2007.
Caption: Burma?s FDA officials said that they found E. coli during restaurant inspections in various parts of the country.
http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21688