Taking into account changes in population size, applying these equivalent methods suggests a 17% decrease in the rate of foodborne gastroenteritis between 2000 and 2010, with considerable overlap of the 90% credible intervals.This study replaces a previous estimate of 5.4 million cases of foodborne illness in Australia every year, causing:
18,000 hospitalizations
120 deaths (0.5 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants)
2.1 million lost days off work
1.2 million doctor consultations
300,000 prescriptions for antibiotics.Most foodborne disease outbreaks in Australia have been linked to raw or minimally cooked eggs or poultry. The Australian Food Safety Information Council estimates that one third of cases of food poisoning occur in the home. Comparison between countries
Outbreaks
The vast majority of reported cases of foodborne illness occur as individual or sporadic cases. The origin of most sporadic cases is undetermined. In the United States, where people eat outside the home frequently, 58% of cases originate from commercial food facilities (2004 FoodNet data). An outbreak is defined as occurring when two or more people experience similar illness after consuming food from a common source.Often, a combination of events contributes to an outbreak, for example, food might be left at room temperature for many hours, allowing bacteria to multiply which is compounded by inadequate cooking which results in a failure to kill the dangerously elevated bacterial levels.Outbreaks are usually identified when those affected know each other. Outbreaks can also be identified by public health staff when there are unexpected increases in laboratory results for certain strains of bacteria.
Pentosan polysulfate (PPS) is a medication used for interstitial cystitis. It is a semi-synthetic polysulfated xylan. Medical uses
Interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome
Pentosan polysulfate may be used either by mouth or in the bladder to treat interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS). An older review found improvements in pain (36%), urgency (28%), and frequency (54%), but that it does not change the frequency of urination at night. More recent trials, however, found it to be of no benefit. Osteoarthritis
PPS has been studied in knee osteoarthritis, though evidence to support such use is poor as of 2003. There is some theoretical evidence that it should help. Adverse effects
Patients who have taken PPS orally report a variety of side effects, primarily gastrointestinal complaints such as diarrhea, heartburn, and stomach pain. Hair loss, headache, rash, and insomnia have also been reported. Due to Elmirons anticoagulant effects, some patients report bruising more easily. In some cases, patients are asked to stop taking the medication before any major surgical procedures to reduce the likelihood of bleeding. Recent report based on clinical observation hypothesizes that chronic exposure to PPS can cause retinal toxicity, mimicking pigmentary pattern dystrophy. Mechanism of action
In IC, PPS is believed to work by providing a protective coating to the damaged bladder wall. PPS is similar in structure to the natural glycosaminoglycan coating of the inner lining of the bladder, and may replace or repair the lining, reducing its permeability. History
The calcium salt of PPS was one of the first reported disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOAD).