There's lots of buzz around the ConAgra beef recall.  Apparently, 21
states are now included.  Problem is, I'm unable to find a
comprehensive list of which states are involved.  There are piecemeal
lists.  For example the Philly Enquirer headlines "19 million pounds
of beef recalled; affected states include Pa., N.J., Del."  That's
useful if you're from one of those three states, but not very useful
for us Texans.  Any help?  What would be even better would be an
official "dash board" site with summarized, up-to-date status.

Hi Biltex!

I found lot's of information about this outbreak and for E-coli in
general that you might find useful.
No "dashboard" or regularly updated site exists as far as I know, I
spent around 2 hours searching but the best I could find were a few
Government agency sites which can provide you with fairly recent
information.

The most useful one of these is the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention [ http://www.cdc.gov ], who provide the media with the
latest information regarding this outbreak such as the latest story on
CNN [ http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/07/19/meat.recall/index.html ].
They also provide some good information about the surveillance of
E-coli outbreaks here : [
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/escherichiacoli_a.htm ], if
you like, I could e-mail them on Monday to get the latest figures for
you.
You may like to make use of the searchable Mortality and Morbidity
tables for each state here : [ http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/distrnds.html ]
to get a good historical overview.


I did see that Philadelphia Inquirer article but also found a few
others :

Washington Post
[ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31617-2002Jul19.html
]

The complete story
[ http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1276622,00.html
]

The list of recalled ConAgra products
[ http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1276334,00.html
]

Recent Outbreaks in the news
[ http://ecoli.cas.psu.edu/News/recentnews.htm ]


I also found a few other articles about E-coli in general from
Government sites which may interest you :

History of outbreaks (detailed data)
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss4901a1.htm#fig1
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4953a1.htm

9 States recently affected by an E-coli outbreak in the water supply
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/emergency/WellWater/MidwestWell.htm

"E coli" search of Texas Department of Health
http://www.tdh.texas.gov/scripts/search.idq?CiRestriction=e+coli&CiMaxRecordsPerPage=10&CiScope=%2F&TemplateName=search&CiSort=rank%5Bd%5D

General information
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/escherichiacoli_g.htm
http://www.doh.wa.gov/topics/ecoli.htm
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ecoli.html

1997 outbreak information
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap15.html#updates


Also of note is the Texas Department of Health Web site [
http://www.tdh.state.tx.us ] where you can keep up to date with the
latest developments in your area.

Hope this helps,
errol-ga

Dilligent work errol-ga -- you earned your US$2.50.  I'd have given
full credit if you had found the list of 21 states.  Thanks for all
the great information!!

Hi Biltex and Errol. 

Excellent job Errol!  You might also want to check out these
Department of Agriculture links:

This USDA link is good because not only does it list all meat recalled
in the class 1 Conagra recall, but it also gives tips on cooking meat
safely--which should kill E coli. In addition to all this, it defines
class I, II, and III recalls.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/recalls/prelease/pr055-2002.htm
(for a 7 page printable pdf version of this go to:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/recalls/prelease/pr055-2002.htm )

This next link is a news release by the secretary of agriculture that
indicates the conagra recall is a nationwide recall.
http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2002/07/0299.htm

Best,
Carrotclock