Environmental Health Specialist Network

 描述（申请人提供）：拟议工作的长期目标是减少明尼苏达州和整个美国与商业食品机构相关的食源性疾病。具体目标是：1）增加和改善食源性疾病爆发调查期间进行的环境评估; 2）确定与食源性疾病爆发相关的促成因素和前因因素; 3）通过专门研究确定和了解与散发性食源性疾病相关的环境因素; 4）评估明尼苏达州的食品安全计划; 5）综合并向环境卫生界和食品服务业传播EHS网络研究项目的结果; 6）在商业食品企业制定、实施和评估干预措施，以减少食源性疾病的发生率。明尼苏达州卫生部（MDH）自成立以来一直是EHS网络的领导者和积极参与者，并建议继续以同样的方式参与EHS网络。来自MDH环境卫生司的环境卫生专家和来自MDH食源性、水传播、病媒传播和人畜共患疾病科的流行病学家将继续组成MDH EHS- Net团队，并将密切合作开展EHS-Net活动。将对可报告的细菌和原生动物病原体进行积极的基于人群的监测，同时沿着最先进的疫情检测和调查。将使用标准工具对明尼苏达州商业食品机构的所有食源性疫情进行环境评估，以便为国家自愿环境评估信息系统（NVEAIS）收集高质量数据。将在先前选定的抽样框架内对餐馆进行随机抽样，进行专门研究，以确定导致散发性食源性疾病的做法、行为或其他风险因素。另一个拟议的项目是综合所有以前的EHS网络，并以有效的格式向目标受众传播。最后，我们建议正在进行的工作的一个主要部分将是使用数据和经验教训，从过去的EHS网络活动，制定，实施和评估干预措施，在商业食品企业。MDH将继续与EHS网络合作伙伴（其他州、CDC、FDA和EPA）建立沟通和合作，并将积极参与EHS网络指导委员会决定的多中心研究。根据从EHS网络吸取的经验教训，将继续积极开展对明尼苏达州环境卫生专家和工业团体的教育。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term objective of the proposed work is to reduce foodborne illness associated with commercial food establishments in Minnesota and the entire U.S. Specific aims are to: 1) increase and improve environmental assessments conducted during foodborne illness outbreak investigations; 2) identify contributing factors and antecedents factors associated with foodborne illness outbreaks; 3) identify and understand environmental factors associated with sporadic foodborne illness through special studies; 4) evaluate food safety programs in Minnesota; 5) synthesize and disseminate the findings from EHS-Net research projects to the environmental health community and the food service industry; and, 6) develop, implement, and evaluate interventions at commercial food establishments that will reduce the incidence of foodborne illness. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has been a leader and active participant in EHS-Net since its inception and proposes to continue EHS-Net involvement in the same fashion going forward. Environmental health specialists from the MDH Division of Environmental Health and epidemiologists from the MDH Foodborne, Waterborne, Vector borne, and Zoonotic Diseases Section will continue to comprise the MDH EHS- Net team and will work closely together to conduct EHS-Net activities. Active population-based surveillance for reportable bacterial and protozoal pathogens will be conducted, along with state-of the art outbreak detection and investigation. Environmental assessments will be conducted on all foodborne outbreaks in commercial food establishments in Minnesota using standard tools to allow collection of high quality data for the National Voluntary Environmental Assessment Information System [NVEAIS]. Special studies to identify practices, behaviors, or other risk factors that lead to sporadic foodborne illness will be conducted at random samples of restaurants in previously selected sampling frameworks. Another proposed project is to synthesize all previous EHS-Network and disseminate it to target audiences in an effective format. Finally, a major part of our proposed ongoing work will be to use data and lessons learned from past EHS-Net activities to develop, implement, and evaluate interventions at commercial food establishments. MDH will continue to build communication and collaborations with EHS-Net partners (other states, CDC, FDA, and EPA) and will actively participate in multi-site studies decided on by the EHS-Net Steering Committee. Education of environmental health specialists and industry groups throughout Minnesota, based on lessons learned from EHS-Net, will continue to be actively pursued.