An E. coli O157 outbreak in the Conwy area of the UK, which affected three children has been declared over, health officials said.
A total of 83 other people were screened for E. coli O157 as part of the investigation by Public Health Wales and Conwy council but were given the all clear.
A childcare provider shut voluntarily during the outbreak but has reopened and is not believed to be the source.
Three affected children are recovering at home.
State health and fishery officials are extending the closure of several oyster beds in Boston’s South Shore area because of illnesses linked to seasonal shellfish bacteria.
The beds in Duxbury Bay, Kingston Bay, Bluefish River, Back River and Plymouth Harbor have been under a 7-day precautionary closure since last week. Tuesday’s announcement extends that until Oct. 8. It could be extended again if more illnesses arise.
The Massachusetts Department of Health and the state Division of Marine Fisheries say six illnesses linked to contaminated oysters have been confirmed. The illnesses are blamed on the Vibrio bacteria that thrive in warmer ocean waters.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the Minnesota Department of Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) are investigating an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections linked to raw, frozen, stuffed and breaded chicken entrees produced by Aspen Foods.
Five people infected with two strains of Salmonella Enteritidis were reported from Minnesota with illness onsets from May to July 2015. Two of these people were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.
The five illnesses in Minnesota occurred after people had eaten Antioch Farms brand frozen, raw, stuffed and breaded chicken entrees, which are produced by Aspen Foods.
On July 15, 2015, Aspen Foods issued a recall of approximately 1.9 million pounds of frozen, raw, stuffed and breaded chicken products that may be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis.
Products subject to this recall also bear the establishment number “P-1358” on the packaging, and have “best if used by” dates between July 14, 2016 and October 10, 2016.
Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should check their freezers for recalled frozen, raw chicken products and should not eat, serve, or sell them.
As part of the ongoing investigation, on September 17, 2015, USDA-FSIS reported that frozen, raw, stuffed and breaded chicken recently products produced by Aspen Foods have been confirmed as having the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis.
USDA-FSIS reports that it cannot have confidence in the safety of any of these products produced after July 30, 2015.
As the number of people sick with Salmonella from Mexican cucumbers continues to climb – 3 deaths, 671 people sick with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Poona, an increase of 113 cases since the last CDC update on September 22 — the U.S. distributor has donated to a non-profit group’s campaign aimed at improving foodborne disease diagnosis and it urged other produce companies to do the same.
San Diego-based Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce partner David Murray said in a Sept. 25 statement, that the firm is “absolutely devastated” by the outbreak and is working with authorities in the U.S. and Mexico, as well as food-safety experts, to analyze its processes and fix any problems.
“On a personal note, in reading information about the illnesses, it was clear that many doctors need additional guidance to ensure the timely diagnosis and treatment of foodborne illnesses,” he said. “With that in mind, we will be making a donation to STOP Foodborne Illness, a non-profit organization devoted to assisting those impacted by foodborne illness.”
“This donation is in support of STOP’s efforts to create an educational packet about foodborne illness to send to every pediatric emergency room and hospital in the U.S. so that patients receive a timely diagnosis and proper treatment.
While we recognize that our actions cannot alleviate the pain caused by a victim’s suffering or worse, the loss of a loved one, the A&W family promises you that we will learn from this experience. We will never forget what happened. And you can rest assured that our food safety decisions will forever be influenced by the memory of consumers who have been impacted by this recall.”
In a medical mystery involving one of Detroit’s largest hospitals, more than a dozen patients, all in the same unit at Henry Ford Hospital, contracted Salmonella last week.
The hospital is working with state officials to try to figure out the source of the outbreak, but so far, no one knows where it came from.
Usually Salmonella is associated with contaminated food, but that’s not the case in this instance. Officials say it does not appear to be a food-related issue. They are still trying to find the source of the Salmonella.
A spokesthingy for Henry Ford Hospital said in a statement, “There’s no evidence at this time that the illness is food related.”
Dr. Frank McGeorge said, “In a hospital setting, it could be just about anything, and that’s where the detective work happens and really has to take place.”
The Golden Cross Cheese Company Ltd is recalling five batches of Flower Marie Sheep Milk Cheese on a precautionary basis because of the presence of Listeria.
According to the Food Standards Agency, Listeria is a bacterium that can cause food poisoning, particularly among key vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, unborn and newborn babies, those over 60 years old, and anyone with reduced immunity.
The product affected is Flower Marie Sheep Milk Cheese in 200g and 600g packages with batch codes 246, 244, 240, 236, 232
On the 20th September 2012 the Gweru district medical officer (DMO) reported a sudden increase in the number of factory workers complaining of symptoms suggestive of gastrointestinal illness. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine factors associated with illness among factory workers.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted from September to October 2012 among 98 randomly selected factory workers.
Interviewer administered questionnaires were used to evaluate possible risk factors from which food attack rates, relative risks (RR) and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) were calculated using Epi info version 3.5.1. Bacteriological examination of food samples was performed.
In addition rectal swabs and specimens from food handlers and patients were collected for analysis.
Results: Of the 98 workers interviewed, 87/98 (89Â %) were males. Consumption of beef stew (AORÂ =Â 9.28, 95Â % CI 2.78-30.91) was independently associated with foodborne illness.
Klebsiella spp. were isolated from beef stew and stool specimen of patients.
Watery diarrhoea 51/98 (52Â %), fatigue 48/98 (49Â %) and abdominal cramps 41/98 (42Â %) were the most presenting symptoms.
Conclusions: Klebsiella spp. was the aetiological agent for the food borne illness at the factory and this resulted from consumption of contaminated beef stew by the workers.
As a result of this evidence, the implicated beef was withdrawn from the canteen and the menu cycle was revised to minimise exposure to the same food. Food handlers training in food safety and hygiene and regular canteen inspections for quality assurance were recommended and adopted.
No further food borne illness has been reported from the factory.
Foodborne illness among factory workers, Gweru, Zimbabwe, 2012: a retrospective cohort study
BMC Research Notes 2015
Meggie Gabida Notion Gombe Milton Chemhuru Lucia Takundwa Donewell Bangure Mufuta Tshimanga
Public Health England have linked a spike in Salmonella cases to an unlikely source – snakes.
It’s not unusual.
You see a reptile, I see a Salmonella factory.
In the UK, 70 cases have been reported so far in 2015 involving people handling reptiles.
Professor Jeremy Hawker said the bug was primarily contracted from handling raw and frozen mice which are then fed to snakes.
He also warned that it could be caught from furniture, clothes and household surfaces contaminated by infected droppings.
But Welsh crooner Tom Jones has a simpler message that snake owners should take to heart.
You’re not the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police): Where’s your horse?
This story could not be more Canadian:
RCMP in Warman, Sask., were allegedly forced to arrest a “stubborn” goat for refusing to leave a Tim Hortons on Sunday morning.
In a statement, RCMP said that employees initially “asked” the goat to leave – how politely Canadian, eh — and tried to walk him outside, but the rebellious animal turned around and sauntered back through the restaurant’s automatic doors.
Eventually two RCMP members were called to deal with the “disturbance.”
The officers believed that the goat was “cold,” and like many Canadians, was forced to take refuge in a Tim Hortons.
They added that the goat simply wanted to “sleep in the entrance.”
Faced with a noncompliant citizen, the RCMP officers “arrested” the goat and escorted him into their vehicle.
RCMP says the goat was “very unhappy” at his treatment.
“The members decided to take him home instead of holding cells at the detachment,” said the RCMP statement.
At first, they were unable to locate the owners of the goat after knocking on the doors of many local farms.
The North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) is investigating an increase in reported cases of salmonellosis, an infection caused by Salmonella bacteria.
Since July 20, 22 cases of a particular strain of Salmonella (Salmonella Thompson) have been reported. Because the infections all have the same genetic pattern, they may have all originated from a common source. However, so far the investigation has not revealed a common food item, place or event where all of the cases may have been exposed.