Fred Korol & Marion Laskaris 
Foodborne Illness, E. coli and Salmonella [PDF ebook] 

Health officials monitor and investigate foodborne illness in a number of ways. Surveillance is used to track trends in the incidence of several common bacterial and parasitic foodborne illnesses. Tracking of outbreaks of foodborne illness helps improve approaches to investigation. Genetic "fingerprinting" is also used to identify infections from a common source, including large multistate outbreaks. Collectively, these tools shed light on the burden of foodborne illness in the U.S., and ways to decrease it. This book examines several systems to monitor foodborne illnesses, discussing their strengths and the gaps that remain in understanding the burden of foodborne illness in the United States, with a focus on E. coli and salmonella.