FEAR OF HAMBURGERS T'is the season for barbecues, picnics - and food poisoning. One particularly hardy little bug with a long name and a killer reputation is bringing more than 500 public health experts, scientists, food and agricultural industry representatives from all over the world to Baltimore for a symposium June 22-26, at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel..
Escherichia coli--E.coli for short--is a microbe found normally in the intestines of cattle and other animals. It gets into the food chain through meat contaminated during the slaughtering or butchering process, or in other food products contaminated by animal feces. Undercooked ground meat is a particular hazard, because ground meat tends to contain bits from hundreds of different animals from a variety of farms. E.coli can be killed by cooking thoroughly at sufficiently high temperatures.
The program includes Dr. Patricia Griffin of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta; David Theno from Jack-in-the-Box fast-food restaurants; Japanese food sanitation official Hideshi Michino; and Dr. Myron Levine, director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Vaccine Development.
Dr. James Kaper, professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, is chair of the scientific program and co-chair of the meeting.
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