Yearly Archives: 2015

Tragic: Brittany Scadlock dies from pathogenic E. coli infection

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Pathogenic E. coli is a horrible bacteria. Between O157 and non-O157 there are an estimated 175,000 illnesses, 2,400 hospitalizations and 20 deaths annually in the U.S.. But those just statistics. Behind each case is a real person. Like Sister Brittany Scadlock who tragically passed away in Brazil from an E. coli infection, according to Herald Extra.

Sister Brittany Scadlock, a 19-year-old missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died Wednesday at a hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil from an E. coli infection.550210f8bb2eb.preview-620

The West Haven resident was serving a mission in Argentina and had been transferred from her mission to the Sao Paulo hospital where she died.
Scadlock was a graduate of Roy High School and, according to media reports, was just 10 days shy of her 20th birthday.

According to family members, they just recently learned she was having medical issues. It was originally thought she was having problems with appendicitis. Unable to fight off the E. coli in her intestinal system, she went into cardiac arrest.

The family is seeking help in funding the transport of Scadlock’s body back to the United States and funeral arrangements 

363 sick from Salmonella in chicks and ducklings linked to single mail-order outfit

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that in early 2014, five clusters of human Salmonella infections were identified through PulseNet, the national molecular subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMany ill persons in each of these clusters reported contact with live poultry, primarily chicks and ducklings, from a single mail-order hatchery; therefore, the clusters were merged into a single investigation. During February 3–October 14, 2014, a total of 363 persons infected with outbreak strains of Salmonella serotypes Infantis, Newport, and Hadar were reported from 43 states and Puerto Rico, making it the largest live poultry-associated salmonellosis outbreak reported in the United States.

Among the ill persons, 35% (122 of 353) were aged ≤10 years, and 33% (76 of 233) were hospitalized; no deaths were reported. Among those interviewed, 76% (174 of 230) reported live poultry contact in the week before illness onset. Among the ill persons who provided supplemental information on live poultry exposure, 80% (94 of 118) reported chick exposure and 26% (31 of 118) reported duckling exposure. Among 96 (81%) ill persons who were exposed to live poultry at their residence, 28 (29%) reported keeping poultry inside their home instead of outdoors, and 26 (27%) reported no direct contact with their poultry.

Of the 75 ill persons with live poultry purchase information, the average time from purchase to illness onset was 48 days (range = 2–730 days); 27 (36%) reported illness onset within 14 days of purchase. Hatchery source information was available for 69 purchases, of which 58 (84%) came from a single mail-order hatchery in Ohio. This same Ohio hatchery was previously linked with multiple, large human Salmonella infection outbreaks (1,2).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Poultry Improvement Plan, a collaboration between industry and state and federal agencies, provides guidance on management and sanitation practices for mail-order hatcheries, including a Best Management Practices Handbook.* Comprehensive Salmonella prevention and control programs are needed at all hatcheries and associated breeder farms to prevent outbreaks.

The possibility of environmental contamination of the home by live poultry, suggested by the 27% of respondents who reported no direct contact with their poultry, illustrates a need for additional educational information advising customers on how to reduce the risk for Salmonella transmission from live poultry (3) to humans through environmental contamination. Educational information regarding zoonotic Salmonella outbreaks, including outbreaks associated with live poultry, is available from CDC (4). A comprehensive approach to illness prevention involving human and animal health officials and practitioners, industry, and backyard poultry flock owners is needed to prevent future outbreaks.

USDA strategies to reduce E. coli levels at beef slaughterhouses

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Reduction of E. coli O157 illnesses since the mid-1990’s has been one of the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s greatest public health successes, with illnesses having dropped by over 50% since 1998.  While overall illnesses are down significantly, the most recently available outbreak data shows a slight increase in illnesses from this dangerous pathogen.  FSIS’ Strategic Performance Working Group (SPWG) has released a six-point strategy to turn the trend back in the right direction.

usda.sanitary.dressingThe SPWG determined that a reduction in O157 could be achieved in two ways.  First, the Agency needs to improve how FSIS inspection personnel verify plant performance of sanitary dressing procedures through better training, more correlations, and developing a standard to assess industry’s performance of sanitary dressing. Drawing on the experience of its members, the SPWG also stated that the training would be most effective if it included photographs and real-world scenarios to effectively illustrate the issues discussed in the documents.

Second, the SPWG recommended improving the information available to industry on how sanitary dressing should be performed.  The SPWG said the Agency could do so by publishing a guide containing suggestions for best practices.

More detailed information about the SPWG’s findings and recommendations mentioned here can be found on the FSIS website at Strategic Performance Working Group: Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli Findings. 

Colon blow: High fiber diets linked to increased risk of E. coli O157?

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According to new research published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, people who consume diets rich in fiber are at an increased risk of contracting Escherichia coli (E. coli) which can lead to O157:H7 infection and severe disease.

colonblowThe study found that “dietary choice affects Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 colonization and disease.”

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) researchers found that mice who were fed high fiber diets (HFD) had very high levels of intestinal butyrate, a gut metabolite which enhances the gut binding-capacity of Shiga toxin – of the bacterium E. coli.

Alison O’Brien, Ph.D., chair of USU’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, led the study, which was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.

While the study does indicate that there is a connection between risk for E. coli infection and high fiber diets, it doesn’t promote changing eating habits that are healthy, especially given that eating fiber is an effective means of reducing the risk of first time stroke, according to a study published in the journal Stroke.

She concluded that “high fiber diets are good for you. However, fresh produce comes from all over the world, so we need to be extra vigilant in keeping our produce free of microbial contaminants.”

What is safe to eat when pregnant?

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Daughter 2-of-5, who is due shortly, asked food safety dad, I know to avoid deli meats, but is it OK to eat pepperettes?

jaucelynn.pregnantI asked Chapman (it’s his job, he’s in extension).

“Most are shelf stable based on pH and Aw – they have been fermented and dried (not cooked). Sometimes they are smoked. Sometimes not.

“I’d cook it because you’d have to know that the pH and Aw was correct and what the steps were to validate the smoking (if that was used).

“They are probably fine, but hard to know without the specifics.”

Good advice.

In related news, preclinical research demonstrates for the first time that refocusing an expectant mother’s immune cells to prevent them from attacking the fetus may be a therapeutic strategy for preventing pregnancy complications like stillbirth or prematurity.

Scientists at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center report their findings March 9 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. They suggest restricting the pregnant mother’s immune cells from the placenta (the maternal-fetal interface) can protect against pregnancy complications during maternal infection and complications not triggered by prenatal infection.

The study sheds new light on an entrenched public health challenge – premature birth and the related pregnancy complications of preeclampsia, spontaneous abortion and stillbirth. One of every 9 infants in the United States is born premature, or before 37 weeks of pregnancy, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control. There remains no effective therapy for these pregnancy complications, and babies born too early are highly vulnerable to death or long-term developmental abnormalities.

City, state assumed the other was inspecting hospital kitchens in Illinois

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After looking through inspection reports for 12 Chicago hospitals, the 2 Investigators found critical food violations. Even worse, they uncovered a bureaucratic problem that left some hospital kitchens with no oversight at all.

The city thought state government was inspecting the kitchens, while the state thought the city was conducting the inspections.

In 2014, the kitchen at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital had a critical violation for a broken dishwasher that was not sanitizing dishes and another violation for chicken stored at dangerous temperatures.

“You would think they would be more interested in the well-being of the patients,” said Anthony Teague, a former patient at Stroger Hospital.

In 2014, Resurrection Hospital also had multiple critical food-temperature violations. This forced the hospital to throw out multiple food items, including lettuce, eggs, cheese sauce, Italian sausages and burgers.

Speaking of audits: Most wrongful-death lawsuits settled in Listeria outbreak

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A Denver judge has wrapped up most of the wrongful-death lawsuits stemming from a 2011 listeria outbreak traced to a cantaloupe farm that killed more than 30 people and sickened more than 140 others.

cantaloupeThe Denver District Court judge approved settlements for the families of 30 of the 33 people who died. The relatives sued companies that handled or sold the melons. Twenty lawsuits from those who fell ill also were settled.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Bill Marler said details of proposed settlements are confidential. Medical expenses from those cases total more than $12 million, Marler said Wednesday.

“This was a very complex case, involving people in 20 courts in 12 states. It has been more than three years now,” Marler said.

But will fewer people get sick? USDA seeks alignment of GAPs audit with food safety law

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The Good Agricultural Practices audit offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for fruit and vegetable growers will be updated to reflect the requirements of the regulations from the Food Safety Modernization Act.

sunnybrook-auditorThe new joint GAPs review project includes staff from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, the Food and Drug Administration and state partners, according to Leanne Skelton, USDA liaison to the Food and Drug Administration on food safety issues.

“We’re just getting started, and the first meeting will be in a couple of weeks,” Skelton told the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee March 10.

She estimated the process may take one year to 18 months to complete.

64 now sick with Salmonella from small-town Texas restaurant

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For a Texas town of barely 8,000 people, 64 sick from Salmonella linked to the same restaurant is a lot.

Officials say 12 additional cases came from the X10 In Texas Restaurant in Dalhart after it voluntarily closed when the bacteria was first discovered. 

As a result state health officials conducted another full inspection, and the restaurant made some additional changes. 

As of right now the state says the X10 In Texas Restaurant has passed the inspection and is open for business.
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