To the OHA team:
One of my favorite parts of my job is learning about the many ways OHA provides access to better health for Oregonians. One of our hidden gems is the International Outbreak Museum (IOM), located within our Acute and Communicable Disease Prevention section in the Public Health Division and part of the Northwest Center for Foodborne Outbreak Management, Epidemiology, and Surveillance (FOMES). September is National Food Safety Education Month, so my visit was timely as well.
Over the past few decades, Oregon's public health disease detectives have become nationally famous for tracking down contaminated food, products and practices that can make us very ill. They have solved multi-state foodborne illness outbreaks and saved countless lives. Recent outbreaks include E.coli 0157 in unpasteurized milk (2012) that hospitalized 11 people and E.coli 0157 in iconic Oregon strawberries (2011) that resulted in two deaths.
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A display at the International Outbreak Museum.
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The IOM is chockfull of fascinating displays of outbreaks: photos, artifacts and representations of the actual contaminated food. The OIM website has online exhibits with detailed descriptions of the outbreaks and the tactics used to investigate them. The purpose of the museum is to share our expertise and help other states elevate their own investigations.
The IOM is a tribute to the dedicated epidemiologists we rely on to solve the mysteries of what is causing disease. One man in particular, Dr. Bill Keene, was a national leader in food safety and the founder of the IOM. He worked on food-borne disease outbreaks in the Public Health Division from 1990 until his untimely death in 2013. During that time, he developed novel methods of solving foodborne outbreaks and guidelines for investigations; by all accounts, he was completely dedicated to protecting the health of Oregonians and people across the country.
It's inspiring and humbling to see such concrete examples of how the work we do every day can have such a positive and lasting effect on the health of our residents. We all contribute in our own way. I appreciate the work you do. Thank you to our Public Health Team for leading the way.
Have a happy Labor Day!
To your health: Don’t let contaminated food ruin your Labor Day cookout. Follow these four basic food safety steps:
Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often
Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate
Cook: Cook to the right temperature
Chill: Refrigerate promptly
For more information, visit the OHA food safety page. |
