Category Archives: E. coli

Cyclospora contaminated food in the US, health alert issued

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Cyclospora is one of those pathogens spread through poop and water/food tends to be the most favorable vehicle of transmission.

The Federal Safety and Inspection Service has issued a health alert over certain meat products over concern for Cyclospora.
The agency is telling people to be extra cautious with beef pork and poultry salad and wrap products out of Caito Foods LLC, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The items with “best by” or “sell by” dates ranging from July 18th to July 23rd are under the alert. 
The problem within Caito Foods is related to the lettuce supplier, Fresh Express. The chopped romaine is being recalled.
Cyclospora infection, defined by the Centers for Disease Control, is an intestinal illness caused by a parasite. The infection can cause Cyclosporiasis.
The symptoms of Cyclosporiasis include loss of appetite, weight loss, cramping, bloating, nausea, fatigue, and other flu-like symptoms.

‘He would be dead right now’ Canadian family warns parents after 2-year-old contracts E. coli infection

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There is so much I want to write about, to get the daily buzz of the blog, but blogs don’t last, and don’t pay the bills.

What’s important to me is the pic, below, and everything I can do to help them succeed.

I’ll work on books (which also don’t pay the bills, but may last longer).

Julian Kolsut of Chek reports that a Parksville family is at the B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver this weekend after their two-year-old toddler contracted an E. coli Infection — that his father Aaron Hughes says was not diagnosed until it was almost too late.

“Be persistent… if we didn’t stick to our guns and react, he would be dead right now,” said Hughes.

It all started when 2-year-old Jaxon starting to act “off” on Tuesday, both of his parents thought he may have had heatstroke and made sure to take him out of the sun and keep him hydrated.

“He was out in the sun and he became really lethargic really fast, didn’t have an appetite, a fever kicked in quickly and then the diarrhea started,” said Aarons wife Jolene Secord.

After contacting the nurse’s line, they were given the same advice, but eventually Jaxon started vomiting. A visit to the walk-in clinic resulted in a different diagnosis, a possible bacterial infection, but while at the clinic they noticed blood in his diaper.

“They did take a swab of his green bowl movements but sent us home,” said Secord.

They were told to continue keeping an eye on him and taking care of him.

The parents say on Wednesday the vomiting and bleeding got worse, and after rushing Jaxon to the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital they were told again it may be a bacterial infection, and that he may have had a torn fissure. After speaking to a nutritionist they were sent home.

Aaron says he couldn’t see the fissure, and was confused the mucus coming out of his toddler’s behind was also bloody.

When his 18-year-old daughter called him when he was shopping for vaseline for his son in Nanaimo on Thursday and was told Jackson’s symptoms were worse, he told them to call and ambulance at that he would meet them at the hospital.

“We weren’t wasting any time… but they couldn’t find his stools [that were sent in for testing]” said Hughes.

“The doctor then came into the room [the next day] and said, “I think we found the source” and he didn’t look too happy, [the doctor] tracked down the stools and said the test came back positive for E. coli O157:H7.”

He was immediately airlifted to the B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver and currently, among many other issues with his health, does not have any functioning kidneys and has a damaged pancreas.

Jaxon is undergoing dialysis, transfusion and other treatments, and his mom says his state changes by the hour.

“At this point, they don’t see the kidneys waking up… it could be a long-term thing… every hour seems to change for Jaxon,” said Secord. “We will see a positive, we will see a negative, we will see a positive.”

The exact cause is unknown, but the family says they suspect it came from deer feces, as the animal can carry the O157:H7 strain. They think Jackson may have come in contact with it outside.  Contaminated food is also a possibility.

“We almost have a family of deer living [on our property]” said Hughes. “We have apple trees on our property and they [the deers] live off that stuff, and that can transport diseases.”

Both parents also say the unfortunate incident is a reminder to always listen to your gut.

“If we would have stuck to what they were telling us then we would have lost him… and if we waited he could have had brain damage, heart failure,” said Hughes.

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1 dead, 25 sick: No fatal accident inquiry over girl’s E. coli death

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BBC reports there will not be a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the death of a three-year-old girl from Dunbartonshire following an E. coli outbreak in 2016.

The Crown Office had previously said South Lanarkshire-based Errington Cheese would not face prosecution over the child’s death.

The firm’s Dunsyre Blue was named the most likely source of the outbreak.

The Crown Office said it had considered “all the relevant matters” before ruling out an FAI.

A total of 26 cases of the same strain of E. coli O157 were identified between July and September 2016 as a result of the outbreak, which left 17 people requiring hospital treatment.

A report published by Health Protection Scotland concluded in March 2017 that the source of the infection was consumption of an unpasteurised cows’ milk cheese.

Their incident management team found that potentially pathogenic E. coli were able to enter and survive the cheese production process at the food business.

However, Errington Cheese has repeatedly questioned the quality of the investigation and any suggestion that their product was responsible.

Always tragic: Iowa student dies from complications of E. coli

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Southeast Polk Community School District officials say a student has died as a result of complications of E. coli.

No mention in early media reports is made of what kind of E coli was involved.

Willowbrook Elementary officials confirm Natalie Baker, a second grade student, died unexpectedly on Friday. Natalie’s mother said the death was very sudden, and urges parents to be on the lookout for signs of illness in their children, especially if they complain of a stomachache.

 

I’m known as the flyslayer around the home: More debate on the role of houseflies in E. coli transmission

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The ecology of Escherichia coli O157:H7 is not well understood. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of and characterize E. coli O157:H7 associated with houseflies (HF).

 Musca domestica L. HF (n = 3,440) were collected from two sites on a cattle farm over a 4-month period and processed individually for E. coli O157:H7 isolation and quantification. The prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 was 2.9 and 1.4% in HF collected from feed bunks and a cattle feed storage shed, respectively. E. coli O157:H7 counts ranged from 3.0 × 101 to 1.5 × 105 CFU among the positive HF. PCR analysis of the E. coli O157:H7 isolates revealed that 90.4, 99.2, 99.2, and 100% of them (n = 125) possessed the stx1, stx2, eaeA, and fliC genes, respectively.

Large populations of HF on cattle farms may play a role in the dissemination of E. coli O157:H7 among animals and to the surrounding environment.

Association of Escherichia coli O157:H7 with houseflies on a cattle farm

July 2018

Applied and Environmental Microbiology vol. 84 no. 14

Muhammad Alam and Ludek Zurek

doi: 10.1128/AEM.70.12.7578-7580.2004

http://aem.asm.org/content/70/12/7578?ijkey=717a5417861fddb53638f51da6eecec048234a81&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

Over 500 sick: E. coli found in well water at zip line attraction in Tennessee

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Tennessee’s Department of Health says testing has confirmed E. coli in well water at a zipline attraction.

The announcement comes after an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness among visitors at CLIMB Works Zipline Canopy Tour, WATE reported.

While tourists continue to enjoy the park, management is working to fix the drinking water.

“I did notice signs not to drink the water. So, I didn’t know if that was something normal everyday or something going on,” LaRie Roe said.

A new filtration system and bottled water for guests have been added. The park is offering refunds for anyone affected with any illness.

Food Safety Talk 159: Hot Tongs

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Don and Ben get together in a room in Salt Lake City with a few listeners and talk about their week at IAFP, online shopping, selling soup on Facebook, roundtables and Gary Acuff’s Ivan Parkin lecture. The guy’s discussion goes to a few items of listener feedback on grilling techniques, peanut grinders and restaurant ratings. They talk about Listeria in European frozen vegetables and intentional poisoning of co-workers. The episode ends on in-studio questions on communicating environmental sampling to produce processors and IAFP membership benefits.

Food Safety Talk 159 can be downloaded here or on iTunes.

Show notes so you can follow along at home:

Father of Tennessee E. coli victim ‘Nutritionist recommended raw milk’

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James Zenker never imagined his young son would battle for his life at just two-years-old.

“It’s affected his kidneys; they shut down,” Zenker said. “It affected his intestines; he couldn’t digest any of his food and its affected his brain — he has a substantial brain injury.”

His son William got E. coli after drinking raw milk linked to French Broad Farm. Zenker said a nutritionist recommended the raw milk to help William fight allergies.

“He’s not able to speak and not able to do the same activities as before he was ill,” Zenker said.

The vast majority of nutritionists, dieticians and physicians I encounter – and it’s frequent with my brain status and trips to emergency – know shit about microbial food safety.

The odd ones do, and they are food safety heros.

But when hospitals continue to serve raw sprouts to immunocompromised people, when they won’t be sold at WalMart in the U.S., I gotta question their food safety credibility.

To reiterate, I stared the Food Safety Network (the original FSN) over 25 years ago as an incoming graduate student in 1993 in the wake of the Jack-in-the-Box outbreak, combining my science and journalism learnings, and because a constant refrain I observed was, I never knew foodborne illness could be so serious.

That’s why I continue to do it as a form of community service (I haven’t been paid since 2016).

Of the 15 children sick with E. coli in Tennessee that has now been linked to consumption of raw milk and contact with ruminants from French Broad Farm, William is the last one left in the hospital. His father said East Tennessee Children’s Hospital saved his son’s life.

The Knox County Health Department said an investigation concluded that the outbreak was caused by two separate sources, the exposure to farm animals and exposure to raw milk.

“While it is rare, it appears we had two sets of children sickened by two different strains of E. coli O157 at the same time. The epidemiological evidence overwhelmingly supported the two-source theory: consumption of raw milk and some type of contact, most likely indirect, with ruminant animals,” said KCHD Director Dr. Martha Buchanan.

William has had several blood transfusions during his recovery and still needs more. His home church Temple Baptist in Powell (no relation – dp) hosted a replacement drive Tuesday for William and the community.

“It’s so encouraging to see people take time out of their busy day and donate from their own life to help Will and others affected by E. coli,” Zenker said.

If you would like more information about future blood drives click here: 
Blood drives scheduled to help children infected with E. coli.

4 confirmed sick with Shiga-toxin E. coli associated with I Love Sushi and Sodexo’s Café Mario in Washington state

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Seattle’s King County public health is investigating an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) associated with I Love Sushi and Sodexo’s Café Mario at Nintendo of America campus in Redmond. Café Mario is operated by Sodexo and is not open to the public. At this time, the source of the illnesses has not been identified.

Since July 2, 2018, we have learned that four people (two King and two Snohomish County residents) have tested positive for STEC. All four consumed food from Café Mario in King County and work at the Nintendo of America campus in Redmond. Symptoms included abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea. Illness onsets occurred during June 25–28, 2018. The four ill people consumed food from Café Mario on multiple days during June 18–22, 2018; one ill person also ate at I Love Sushi on June 19 and June 26, 2018, which is a food establishment that operates out of Café Mario once a week.\

On July 3, 2018, Public Health – Seattle & King County Environmental Health investigators visited Café Mario. Inspections were completed for both Café Mario and I Love Sushi.

At Café Mario, potential risk factors were identified and corrective actions discussed with Café Mario’s management, including inadequate hand washing practices and improper cold holding temperatures of food. At I Love Sushi, potential risk factors were also identified and discussed, including improper temperature storage of foods. Both restaurants were not open on July 4 due to it being a holiday.

On July 5, 2018, investigators closed Café Mario and the onsite I Love Sushi food services. Both restaurants will remain closed until approved to reopen by Public Health. Both food establishments will be required to complete a thorough cleaning and disinfection before reopening. Remaining food products are being held and environmental swabs were collected for laboratory testing. We are currently investigating whether any employees of these restaurants had a recent diarrheal illness. Investigators also reviewed with Café Mario’s management the Washington State Retail Food Code requirement that staff are not allowed to work while having vomiting or diarrhea.

Raw isn’t rad, it’s risky: Radagast Pet Food, Inc. voluntarily recalls three lots of rad cat raw diet free-range chicken recipe and one lot of pasture-raised venison recipe because of possible health risk

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Radagast Pet Food, Inc. of Portland, OR is recalling three lots of Rad Cat Raw Diet Free-Range Chicken Recipe because testing results indicate they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The Company is also recalling one lot of Rad Cat Raw Diet Pasture-Raised Venison Recipe because testing results indicate it has the potential to be contaminated with Shiga Toxin producing E. coli O121.  This recall is being conducted out of an abundance of caution.  Due to Radagast Pet Food’s commitment to food safety and quality, The Company is conducting this voluntary recall.

Uh-huh.