Yearly Archives: 2015

45 sick: Health officials investigating Salmonella cases linked to Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota

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Must suck to be a Chipotle right now in the U.S.: About 100 customers and staff sick from Norovirus at a California oultlet, and now 45 sick with Salmonella linked to several Minnesota-area Chipotle’s.

chipotle.ad.2Forty-five (45) cases of Salmonella Newport infection have been reported to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) since Wednesday, Sept. 2. Since many cases of salmonellosis do not seek health care and get tested, the number of ill people that are part of this outbreak is likely to be larger than the identified number of cases. Consequently, health officials want to bring this outbreak to the attention of people who have become ill with symptoms of salmonellosis but who have not yet consulted a health care provider. These people should mention this outbreak to their health care provider should they consult one.

The investigation to date has found that the 45 cases were all infected with Salmonella Newport bacteria that have matching or very similar DNA fingerprints. Of the 34 people who have been interviewed to date, 32 ate or likely ate at 17 different Chipotle restaurant locations. Most of the restaurant locations are in the Twin Cities metro area, with one in St. Cloud and one in Rochester. Their meal dates range from Aug. 16 to Aug. 26 and they became ill between Aug. 20 and Aug. 29.  

The Minnesota cases range in age from 15 to 67 years and are from eight metro and greater Minnesota counties; 56 percent are male. Five cases have been hospitalized; all are recovering.

Investigators from MDH and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture are working on identifying a specific food item source of the outbreak; in the meantime, Chipotle has changed the source of the suspect produce item under investigation. Between Aug. 16 and Aug. 26, Chipotle served more than 560,000 customers in Minnesota and has taken every appropriate measure to ensure that it is safe to eat in its restaurants. Investigators are confident that ongoing transmission at Chipotle as part of this outbreak has ended.

20 sick with Salmonella linked to DC restaurant

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Fig & Olive restaurant in City Center closed Thursday night amid concerns about an outbreak that hospitalized four people with salmonella-like symptoms.

Fig & OliveThe D.C. Department of Health is trying to determine the source of the outbreak. Environmental and food samples have been collected.

Twenty cases of possible salmonella have been identified, but only two have been confirmed.

Three of those cases occurred over Labor Day weekend, as people were admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital.

A spokeswoman for Fig & Olive says the restaurant is cooperating with the health department.

Fig and Olive released the following statement:

“The health and safety of our restaurants and patrons is of paramount importance to us. Fig & Olive has closed the City Center DC restaurant due to reports that some patrons have recently been sickened. We have retained third-party consultants to provide assistance in this investigation and will cooperate fully with the Department of Health. We will continue to work with the DOH to insure that we have done all we can for the safety of our customers.”

3 sick: Crypto outbreak in Tenn.

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Some Scott County parents are on edge after two local children have been hospitalized with a gastrointestinal illness caused by a common microscopic parasite.

crypto.Public-Pool-Dangers-800Cryptosporidiosis is being blamed for at least three illnesses in Scott County children this week, creating a sense of alarm on social media as news of their sickness has spread.

The first local child to be admitted to the hospital was a young girl from Oneida. Initially fearing an appendicitis attack, her mother, Tracy Shoopman, drove her to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville on Tuesday. There, doctors admitted her for testing, and on Wednesday confirmed a diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis.

The same day, another child from Scott County — a student at Huntsville Elementary School — was also diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis by doctors after being hospitalized at Children’s Hospital. Her mother, Mindy Wagaman, told the Independent Herald that her daughter was hospitalized late Tuesday night after she started vomiting blood.

Both children remained hospitalized Thursday.

Also on Wednesday, a third child, also a student at Huntsville Elementary, was diagnosed with the illness by Children’s Hospital doctors. However, she was treated in the hospital’s emergency room and released.

A fourth child, a student at Huntsville, was being tested for the illness.

At first glance, there was no apparent connection between the four cases of the illness — which health officials say is most commonly caught from contaminated water sources. According to the CDC, the illness can be caught by swimming in contaminated bodies of water, which can include streams or lakes but can also include treated water sources, such as pools or splash pads. Because the parasite is resistant to common water treatment methods, it can survive in pools after being unknowingly introduced to the water by someone who is sick.

Knoxville’s WBIR reported last week that East Tennessee health officials are seeing a major spike in crypto cases this year. The story quoted Darci Hodge, Children’s Hospital’s director of quality and infection control, as saying the hospital has confirmed 29 cases of crypto this year — far higher than the next highest single-year number of five cases.

81 sick: Vibrio outbreak linked to raw oysters grows in Canada’s west

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The Public Health Agency of Canada reports 5 additional cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus that have been reported in British Columbia (4), and Saskatchewan (1).

Coos Bay Oyster Co.PHAC is collaborating with provincial public health partners, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Health Canada to investigate 81 Canadian cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario linked to raw shellfish. The majority of the illnesses have been linked to eating raw oysters.

The risk to Canadians is low, and illnesses can be avoided if shellfish are cooked before being eaten. People with weakened immune systems, young children, pregnant women and older adults are at increased risk for developing complications if they get sick.

Individuals became sick between May 26 and August 26, 2015 and all reported consumption of raw shellfish, primarily oysters.

Based on the investigation of the foodborne illness outbreak by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, oysters harvested from British Columbia coastal waters for raw consumption on or before August 18, 2015 have been recalled from the marketplace. See the food recall warning for more information on the recalled products that were distributed nationally. Consumers should not consume the recalled products.

Two Welsh children recovering after contracting E. coli

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Two young children are recovering at home after being tested for the potentially deadly E.coli bug.

farmfest.Oneida County cryptoPublic Health Wales and Conwy County Borough Council say both children, who visited childcare settings in the region, have been tested for the infection.

The affected childcare providers have closed voluntarily, and relevant children and staff are being screened for the infection as a precaution to prevent the risk of spread in these settings.

Public Health Wales say the source of infection is believed to be outside of the childcare settings.

A spokeswoman said both children are “recovering well at home”.

11 sick: Australian hospital patients warned of Salmonella from imported fish

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Why does imported fish garner a headline in Australia? Because homegrown would never sicken anyone.

fish.headsA mother of two is among at least 11 Burnside Hospital patients in Adelaide struck down with salmonella caused by imported fish, and authorities are investigating a second source of the potentially deadly infection.

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, said she “felt like death” and “like I was going to die”.

Testing confirmed she had contracted the infection from eating fish in the hospital.

She spent one night at Burnside after a routine shoulder operation but a few days later spent six days at Modbury Hospital with “uncontrolled bowels” and hooked up to an intravenous drip.

Advertiser.com.au on Friday revealed Burnside Hospital chief executive officer Heather Messenger sent letters to 1600 patients this week informing them of their “potential exposure” in the past six weeks.

Acting on advice from an external public relations firm, hospital officials made a statement after inquiries from The Advertiser.

“Our view is that patients should always hear about things that happen in the hospital from the hospital, not the media,” Ms Messenger said.

She confirmed patients had contracted salmonella from eating imported fish from Myanmar, supplied to the hospital by an SA company.

Ms Messenger said there was still an unknown source in some cases. It is believed the cause could be cross-contamination from eggs – a common cause of the infection.

Burnside Hospital has a maternity ward but Ms Messenger would not confirm whether babies were among the victims.

“(I’m) not really in a position to talk patients because of the privacy aspects of it … but yes, there have been patients of various ages affected by this,” she said.

sprout.salad.aust.aug.15“I am disappointed that, with our commitment to excellent standards of patient care and service, this has happened.”

Oh please. Every Australian hospital I’ve visited serves raw sprouts (left, from a hospital).

It’s a temperature thing: Woman sickened by bacteria-tainted food at Florida office party sues caterer

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A holiday party gone wrong has sparked a lawsuit in Orange County Circuit Court with a food-poisoning victim suing the caterer for more than $15,000, records show.

vomit.diarrhea-300x286Gina Ervin, one of 55 people sickened by bacteria in the food at a December lunch buffet in the Maitland Colonnades office building, has filed a lawsuit against Kitchen Divas.

In the complaint, Ervin accuses the Seminole County-based food service of negligently preparing the food and failing to follow industry-wide standards of reheating and storing the food at proper temperatures.

As a result, Ervin fell “violently ill” and experienced symptoms of food poisoning including cramps, headache and vomiting, the lawsuit states.

Ervin is seeking expenses related to hospitalization and medical care for her condition, the lawsuit states.

The owner of Kitchen Divas did not respond to a request for comment.

The business is now closed, according to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

After the Dec. 10 outbreak, in which 200 people were evaluated, the Florida Department of Health in Orange County identified two bacteria found in the food – staphylococcus aureus (Staph) and Bacillus cereus (B.cereus).

New US FDA rules tighten requirements for food manufacturers

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Sweeping new federal rules will require USA food manufacturers to implement more stringent food-safety operations and preventive measures to avert deadly outbreaks of foodborne illnesses like listeria and salmonella.

bureaucrat.pink.flyodThe rules, released Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, follow years of work by regulators amid a rash of foodborne illnesses linked to dirty food processing equipment and poorly designed facilities.

Michael Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods, called the new rules the most sweeping overhaul of our food safety system since the first federal law was enacted in 1906. The rules, he said, will focus on prevention, as most of the recalls consumers have faced in recent years “are largely preventable.”

The FDA will phase in the new rules over time, beginning in September 2016 for larger food manufacturers. Smaller companies will have longer to comply with the regulations. All of the rules should be in place, Taylor said, by late summer 2018.

The rules, once promoted as an Obama administration priority, ran into long delays and came out under a court-ordered deadline after advocacy groups had sued. Even then, the Food and Drug Administration allowed the Aug. 30 deadline to pass without releasing the rules to the public.

The new rules will require food manufacturers to submit food safety plans to the government to show they are keeping their operations clean. Once the rules go into effect later this year, companies will have to prepare detailed plans that lay out how they handle the food, how they process it, how they clean their facilities and how they keep food at the right temperatures, among other safety measures.

Thoroughly cook salad: 40 sick with E. coli O157 linked to leafy greens in UK

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Public Health England (PHE), Public Health Wales (PHW) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are investigating an outbreak of E. coli across England and Wales.

lettuce.skull.e.coli.O145As of September 8, there are 40 confirmed cases.

Initial investigations have indicated that pre-packed salad is the most likely cause of the outbreak.  Dr Anjila Shah from PHE’s North West’s Cheshire and Merseyside Health Protection team said: “We have been working with colleagues nationally and with the Food Standards Agency to investigate the cause of this outbreak.

“To date seven cases have been confirmed across the Cheshire and Merseyside area and public health measures have been put in place to prevent further infection.

“Investigations into these cases is on-going so it is not possible to speculate further as to the cause and source of the infection.”

Paul Cleary, consultant epidemiologist for Public Health England said: “The public can protect themselves from getting, and spreading E. coli through good hygiene practices. 

“This is particularly important when handling or preparing food, as consuming contaminated food or water are common sources of infection. 

“Foods that require cooking should be cooked thoroughly and all fruits and vegetables eaten raw should be washed to help remove bacteria from the outside. 

“Ready-to-eat pre-packed salads do not generally need to be re-washed unless it states otherwise on the packet.”

Hundreds of Nebraska food safety inspections running late

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Nebraska food safety officials are late inspecting hundreds of restaurants, meat markets and other food establishments, according to a new state audit.

nebraska.restThe problem affects nearly one of every three food facilities inspected by the State Department of Agriculture. Food safety checks are more than four years overdue in some cases, the audit said.

Douglas, Lancaster and Hall Counties are inspected by local health departments working under contract with the state. The audit raises questions about whether those inspections are being done on time, but state and local officials said that conclusion is based on faulty state records.

In addition, the audit found that state agriculture inspectors are overdue in checking the accuracy of 14 percent of weighing and measuring devices, ranging from the scales used at supermarket checkout counters to fuel pumps to railroad weight scales. The oldest cases were 11 to 23 years late. The audit does not provide details such as the names or locations of the establishments involved.

The late inspections of food establishments and of weighing and measuring devices were the top concerns raised by an Agriculture Department audit recently released by State Auditor Charlie Janssen’s office.

Bobbie Kriz-Wickham, an Agriculture Department spokeswoman, did not dispute the audit findings.

She said Wednesday that eliminating the backlog of inspections is a “huge priority” for the department and has been a focus of efforts since the current food program manager started in February.

“The audit report confirmed what we were already working on,” Kriz-Wickham said. “We definitely need to get to all of them (overdue inspections) that are on the list.”

She said department officials aim to catch up by January on inspections of facilities deemed at high risk because they prepare or serve food that could potentially cause illness. The goal for catching up with other inspections is June 1.

The Agriculture Department’s food program is responsible for inspecting 6,135 food facilities across 90 of the state’s 93 counties. The department contracts with local health departments to do food safety checks in Douglas, Lancaster and Hall Counties.

Under Agriculture Department policy, inspections are to be done every six months at the highest risk places, such as full-service restaurants, school cafeterias, nursing home kitchens and food processing plants.

Inspections are to be done every 12 months for medium-risk places with limited food preparation, such as fast-food restaurants and cook-to-order kitchens. Low-risk places, which handle only prepackaged or bulk foods, are to be inspected every 18 to 24 months.

Based on department records, the audit found that inspections were overdue for 1,882 facilities, including 1,232 high-risk facilities.

In addition, as of June 8, there were 94 newly licensed food establishments that had never been inspected.