PREVENT ILLNESS: 80% of human disease has been eliminated because of proper sanitation. Environmental public health services continue to be a major factor in the prevention of illness.

PROTECT LIVES: An important part of the public response to terrorism and other emergencies is to provide services essential for protecting and ensuring the well-being of people in affected areas with an emphasis on prevention and control of disease and injury.

SAVE HEALTH CARE COST through preventing illness — many environment-related conditions affect the health and lives of millions of citizens at significant cost.*

*The annual economic costs of medical care, productivity loss and premature deaths due to foodborne illness associated with just five pathogens are estimated to be between $7 million and $37 million annually. (As cited in Safe Tables Our Priority [S.T.O.P.]. Ten Years After the Jack in the Box Outbreak — Why Are People Still Dying from Contaminated Food?)

REFERENCE: CDC. A National Strategy to Revitalize Environmental Public Health Services. September 2003.

FACT:

E. coli has been associated with eating undercooked beef. A stronger strain of E. coli is causing more serious outbreaks of food-borne diseases.