FoodNet Surveillance Trends in New Mexico 2004-2008

In 2004 New Mexico became the 10th state in the CDC's Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, FoodNet. The population-based NM surveillance system includes bimonthly surveillance of Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Escherichia coli 0157 (STEC 0157) and non-0157, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia. Using NM FoodNet and population data from the University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, basic statistics including incidence rates by gender, county, age, race and ethnicity were calculated for NM residents from 2004-2008. Average incidence rates per 100,000 Population were as follows: Campylobacter (17.7), Cyclospora (0.09), Cryptosporidium (3.7), E. coli (0.5), E. coli non-0157 (1.2), Listeria (0.2), Salmonella (15.9), Shigella (7.1), Vibrio (0.02), and Yersinia (0.1). For 5 years the incidence rates of Campylobacter (17.7) and Salmonella (15.8) exceeded the Healthy People 2010 standards (12.3 and 6.8 per 100,000 population, respectively). The rates of campylobacteriosis among Native Americans in New Mexico (11% of NM population) increased from 34.0 per 100,000 in 2004 to 45.2 per 100,000 in 2006 and then decreased to 22.5 per 100,000 in 2008. The Campylobacter incidence rate of all New Mexicans ranged from 16.9 to 19.0 per 100,000 over the same period. In 2008 the incidence of Cyptosporidium (8.4 per 100,000) and Salmonella (25.2 per 100,000) spiked in New Mexico compared to all previous years monitored (ranges 0.8-5.7 and 12.8-14.6 per 100,000, respectively). New Mexico's high racial diversity, underserved rural areas, and proximity to the US/Mexico border make it a unique component of the FoodNet program.