An article which is likely to receive considerable attention will appear in the April issue of Scientific American. The article, entitled Food Poisoning’s Hidden Legacy is written by science journalist Maryn McKenna.

Due to copyright restrictions we cannot, of course, post the article. However, most of our readers subscribe to, or will have access to, Scientific American and should use the citation below:

Food Poisoning’s Hidden Legacy, Maryn McKenna, p. 26, Scientific American, April 2012.

The Walkerton Health Study, documenting the sequelae of the 2000 Walkerton, Ontario E. coli O157 outbreak (municipal drinking water E. coli O157 contamination), is cited in the article. Our readers should be familiar with this important study which we post below:

The Walkerton Health Study 2002-2008 Final Report, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, William F. Clark MD, Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, Jennifer J. MacNab PhD and Jessica M. Sontrop PhD, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of Western Ontario.

http://www.lhrionhealth.ca/feature/Walkerton.pdf

The STOP Foodborne Illness (formerly Safe Tables Our Priority) website offers some information on the long-term consequences of foodborne disease:  http://www.stopfoodborneillness.org/content/long-term-consequences