The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) monitors foodborne illness cases and outbreaks across the state of Nebraska through the use of a public health surveillance system.
DHHS collaborates with many partners such as hospitals, clinics, laboratories, local, state, and federal partners to detect, investigate, control, and report foodborne disease cases and outbreaks.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. If you are experiencing diarrhea, vomiting, or have a fever, you should not work. You should be symptom free for at least 24 hours before returning to work. Working while sick increases the risk of spreading illness to others.
If you are a food handler and experiencing illness or have a diagnosis from your doctor, you must report to your manager and follow proper exclusions as stated in the
Nebraska Food Code.
The 'stomach flu' or 'stomach bug' is usually caused by
Norovirus. The 'flu' is caused by
Influenza.
A common misunderstanding is that gastrointestinal illness was caused by the last food item that was eaten before symptoms started. While there are a few pathogens in which gastrointestinal illness may cause illness within a few hours of being exposed, many foodborne illnesses have incubation periods that range from several hours to several days or weeks.
A foodborne illness outbreak is defined as two or more illnesses caused by the same germ (bacteria, parasite, virus, or toxin) and share a common exposure.
Foodborne illness outbreaks can occur in a variety of settings including, but not limited to: a restaurant meal, church potluck, wedding, catered meal, concert/festival and/or a store bought food product (i.e. prepackaged romaine lettuce).
Foodborne illness outbreaks require a team effort between the public, local health departments, DHHS, physicians, hospitals, laboratories, and regulatory agencies.
There are many steps involved in a foodborne outbreak investigation.
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Detect a possible outbreak through public health surveillance.
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Find cases.
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Generate a hypotheses through interviews.
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Test hypotheses through studies and laboratory testing.
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Solve point of contamination and original source of outbreak vehicle.
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Control outbreak through recalls, facility improvements, and industry collaboration.
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Decide an outbreak is over.