Monthly Archives: June 2011

Kids can go back to the pool in Kentucky as shigella wanes

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As the temperature climbed to 105F today in Manhattan (Kansas) I was once again thankful for City Park, down the street, with it’s groovy new splash and water park.

Two-and-a-half-year-old Sorenne hasn’t had an accident – yet – but who knows if she will.

It’s a tough balancing act for city types – public health versus cool relief.

WLWT repots that children who are not toilet trained can again swim in public pools in Northern Kentucky, under revised guidelines issued by the Northern Kentucky Health Department on Thursday.

The restriction, in place since June 3, has been part of an effort to stop the spread of shigella. More than 100 cases of shigella have been reported in Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton Counties since April. Typically, about 25 cases are reported for the entire year.

"When faced with a shigella outbreak, a big concern is that the bacteria, and other similar illnesses, could infect a larger population through local swimming pools," said Dr. Lynne M. Saddler, District Director of Health, in a news release.

"The restriction on diapers in pools was an effective strategy. In past shigella outbreaks, when restrictions were not in place, we saw a significant increase of shigella cases and other recreational water illnesses in June. This June, with restrictions in place, we have not seen as many cases of shigella, or other illnesses, including cryptosporidium."

Other efforts to contain the Shigella outbreak will continue, focusing on child care centers and swimming pool facilities, officials said.

And keep those chlorine levels up.
 

Pregnant women: don’t eat clay imported to the UK

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The U.K. Food Standards Agency is advising pregnant women not to eat clay, sometimes known as ‘sikor’ or ‘shikor mati’, because it may contain high levels of toxic chemicals that could harm their babies.

Clay or earth is sometimes consumed in Asia and Africa, particularly by pregnant women who believe that eating it is beneficial during pregnancy. It is not known how common clay consumption is in the UK, but recent research carried out by De Montfort University found products imported from Bangladesh on sale in shops in Birmingham, Leicester and Luton.

Tests carried out on samples of this baked clay found high levels of lead and arsenic. Exposure to arsenic can be associated with an increased risk of lung, skin and bladder cancer. Exposure to lead by pregnant women, infants or children poses a risk to the development of the brain, which can affect intellectual performance.

Cute birds outbreak grows to 71 with Salmonella in 16 states

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that 71 people –more than half children under 5-years-old – have been sickened with Salmonella Altona or Salmonella Johannesburg from handling chicks or ducklings, that have been traced back to the same mail-order hatchery in Ohio.

Reuters reported the implicated business was Mt. Healthy Hatchery, which supplies chicks and ducklings to an unnamed nationwide agricultural feedstore.

As of June 27, 2011, a total of 49 individuals infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Altona have been reported from 16 states and a total of 22 individuals infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Johannesburg have been reported from 12 states. Ill persons reported purchasing live poultry for either backyard flocks to produce eggs or as pets.

The complete CDC investigation update is available at http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/altona-baby-chicks/062911/index.html
 

Woman served bloody meal at Texas Cracker Barrel

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Cracker Barrel, the restaurant that ubiquitously dots Interstate highways across the U.S., had an accident in the kitchen of their Kingwood, Texas location and a woman ended up being served a BLT sandwich and French fries, complete with human blood.

KTRK reports that on June 11, when cancer survivor Susan Mosher was eating a meal with her husband at the Cracker Barrel restaurant, she noticed blood on her food.

The restaurant manager confirmed there had been an accident in the kitchen and apologized, giving Mosher a $100 gift certificate. Mosher, however, wants the worker who was injured to undergo testing to rule out blood borne diseases.

Kathy Barton with the city of Houston Health Department confirms that on June 28 they received a complaint regarding the incident. They have launched an investigation, receiving confirmation of the kitchen accident from the restaurant manager as well.

A Cracker Barrel representative issued the following statement:

"Cracker Barrel Old Country Store was very concerned about this incident and investigated to the fullest extent possible. We regret that the guest’s desire to have the grill cook who prepared her meal tested could not be fulfilled. A company by law cannot compel such testing. We understand that the guest believes such testing would mean she wouldn’t have to go through testing herself, but that’s actually not the case. For complete assurance, the guest needs to work with her doctor for medical guidance. In such cases, Cracker Barrel always agrees to consider and evaluate reimbursement of medical bills. We, of course, would do the same in this case. ?Again, Cracker Barrel was very concerned about this incident and regrets the distress it has caused. Please know that we have systems and processes in place to ensure that all quality standards are met. Food safety is one critical component of those standards. We strive everyday to ensure that all food served at our restaurants is of the highest quality and safe to eat. On the rare occasions when there is any question, we investigate and take appropriate action."

Sprouts must be cooked to avoid E.coli: EU food agency

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European Union food safety and disease prevention agencies joined a mounting chorus today and said, don’t eat raw sprouts, as clues emerged about the origin of seeds.

AFP reports the two bodies conducted a study and said that they "strongly recommend to advise consumers not to grow sprouts for their own consumption and not to eat sprouts or sprouted seeds unless they have been cooked thoroughly."

The report by the European Food Safety Authority in Italy and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in Sweden said sprouts are often sold as mixes and "during re-packaging cross-contamination cannot be excluded."

Meanwhile CIDRAP reports new trace-back investigations in German and French E. coli outbreaks are pointing to two lots of fenugreek seeds that were imported from Egypt, according to the latest threat assessment from European officials.

Sprouts from Egyptian fenugreek seeds are suspected in both a cluster of French E coli O104:H4 illnesses and the large outbreak in Germany involving the same strain, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said in a risk assessment today. But the agencies cautioned that there is no lab evidence yet tying the seeds to the outbreaks.

The ECDC and the EFSA said they have urgently requested that the German-based company that imported the seeds help them track other customers who received fenugreek seeds from the two lots.

Officials suspect that Egyptian fenugreek seeds imported in 2009 are linked to the French E coli cluster and that a batch from 2010 is linked to the German outbreak. The ECDC identified the seed importer as AGA SAAT GMBH, based in Dusseldorf, Germany. It said a UK company that reportedly supplied the sprout seeds linked to the French cluster obtained the seeds from AGA SAAT GMBH.

Germany shuts school over E. coli O104 outbreak

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German officials closed a primary school in the west of the country on Tuesday after a number of students fell ill with E.coli O104 responsible for an outbreak that has killed 48 people.

The school in the town of Altenbeken will be shut for a week, about the length of the E. coli incubation period, to prevent a possible spread of the bacteria, local officials said.

So far more than 4,000 people in Europe and North America have been sickened by the bacteria, with all the cases so far traced to travel in, or produce from, northern Germany. The rate of infection has slowed considerably since its climax in May.

Health authorities have pinned the outbreak to contaminated vegetable sprouts and shoots, of the type eaten in salads, from an organic farm near Hamburg.

Health officials responsible for Altenbeken believed poor hygiene by both students and school canteen workers caused the spread of the bacteria, rather than contaminated bean sprouts.

FDA issues warning; grower won’t recall sprouts

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This is why I don’t pay attention to government: for months, Americans have been told that under new legislation the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would have the authority to recall products.

Instead of a recall, FDA warned consumers yesterday not to eat alfalfa sprouts from Evergreen Produce because of possible salmonella contamination, which has apparently sickened 20.

According to The Packer, the owner of the company declined to recall her product until the agency could provide “hard evidence.”

(That’s what she said.)

Nadine Scharf owns 23-year-old Evergreen Produce Inc., Moyie, Idaho. She said June 27 that someone reported to health officials that they had gotten sick after eating Evergreen sprouts in recent weeks, but that there haven’t been any new illnesses reported since June 2.

“The FDA encouraged us to do a recall but I said I needed to see hard evidence that our sprouts were involved. They are down to only three cases now. It started out that they thought 20 people were sick, then they dropped that number to six and now it’s down to three. And they say it will be a week before any tests results will be available.”

Scharf said government officials took swab samples throughout her hydroponic growing operation, but she said the first batch of samples was sent to the wrong place. So, more swabs were taken and Scharf is still awaiting results.

In the meantime, she laid off half of her 14 employees and shut down production of her alfalfa and spicy sprout lines as a precautionary move.

“If I had the money I would be fighting what they (FDA and Idaho state health officials) have done,” Scharf said. “They have issued that statement and smeared us without any evidence.”

Scharf said Evergreen Produce always tests its seed lots before using them. The company has third-party water tests done three times each week.

“The military also comes in once every quarter for an audit and we always pass those without any problems,” Scharf said.

Gonzalo Erdozain: Antibacterial gels wipes not a substitute for washing hands when visiting petting zoos farms

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Washing hands is the single most effective way to prevent zoonotic disease transmission at petting zoos yet compliance remains low. The most recent attempt at raising public awareness on handwashing after visiting petting zoos comes from Ireland’s Public Health Agency (HPA), which released recommendations yesterday.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) is reminding parents about the importance of supervising hand washing among their children after visiting an open farm and handling farm animals, over the summer holidays.

Antibacterial gels and wipes are not a substitute for washing hands with soap and water, as gels/wipes may be unable to remove contamination in the way that running water can. However, using such gels after hand washing with soap and water may further reduce the risk of picking up these infections.

Dr Lorraine Doherty, Assistant Director of Public Health (Health Protection), PHA, said: “Farm animals often carry a range of organisms which can be passed to children and adults. These organisms can include serious infections such as E. coli O157 which is extremely infectious and easily passed from animals to children and then within the household. Hand washing with soap and water will reduce the risk of picking up these infections, which can be particularly harmful to young children.”

"By being aware and by doing these simple things we can help to avoid illness and enjoy a fun day out.”

It’s not simple if the tools for handwashing are not available. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers don’t work well on soiled hands. They are ineffective in killing Clostridium spores and norovirus. The latest petting zoo-related outbreak (June 2011) involved four people – two adults and two children – falling ill with E. coli after visiting a petting zoo in Washington.

An updated table of petting zoo-related outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/petting-zoos-outbreaks.
 

Alaska investigating 4 cases of raw milk contamination

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KTUU reports the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services is investigating four cases of people who became sick after drinking bacteria-contaminated raw milk from a Mat-Su Valley farm.

??According to DHSS spokesperson Greg Wilkinson, state law doesn’t allow the sale of raw milk, but does permit owning shares of an animal to receive its milk — which doesn’t have to be tested or pasteurized it’s distributed.??

The four people infected with Campylobacter jejuni bacteria from May 7 through June 4 were Southcentral Alaska residents ranging in age from 1 to 81 years old. All four experienced severe stomach flu after drinking raw milk from one of the unnamed farm’s cows, and two said family members also experienced symptoms but did not seek medical attention.
 

Toronto Public Health accepts Samuel Crumbine Consumer Protection Award at NEHA conference

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Would-be rock star, friend and colleague Sylvanus Thompson didn’t like the last picture I posted so he made sure he sent me a new one.

Toronto Public Health received the Crumbine Consumer Protection Award, consisting of a bronze Crumbine medallion and engraved plate, at the Annual Educational Conference of the National Environmental Health Association, on June 19 in Columbus, Ohio. This was the first time in its 56 year history that the award was presented to a local food safety jurisdiction outside of the United States. As a Crumbine Award winner, Toronto Public Health joins an elite group of local public health agencies that have demonstrated "unsurpassed achievements in providing outstanding food protection services in the community."

The selection jury noted that they were particularly impressed by:
? Innovative and new ideas in the realm of consumer protection with technically savvy items like a phone application for consumers
? Transparency, with daily website posts
? Internationally recognized program with strong impacts felt across the United States and elsewhere

Toronto won for its restaurant inspection disclosure system – red, yellow, green signs on the doors.