‘I was really scared for him’ 4-year-old among Edmonton E. coli outbreak

A four-year-old boy has had a rough go since contracting E. coli at a south Edmonton Filipino restaurant two weeks ago.

Alberta Health Services (AHS) said at least five people were infected with E. coli after eating at Mama Nita’s Binalot since March 15.

Angela Jung & Diego Romero of CTV Edmonton report a local family says they all got sick after eating there on March 18, but their youngest, Shawn, was the only one diagnosed.

“First, he started having cramps the most, but we all felt off,” his father, Jason Patterson, said. “I was afraid; I was really scared for him.”

His parents said he had cramps, looked pale, lacked an appetite, and had blood in his stool. He went to the hospital four times.

“It’s very heartbreaking to watch him cry in so much pain and going to the washroom every 5-15 minutes,” Shawn’s mother, Melanie Salas-Patterson, told CTV News.

5 sick: E. coli O157 outbreak linked to Filipino restaurant in Edmonton

Edmonton health officials have confirmed five cases of a serious strain of E. coli linked to food served at a restaurant in the city’s southeast.

A news release from Alberta Health Services warns that anyone who has eaten at Mama Nita’s Binalot since March 15 should monitor themselves for symptoms of the infection.

Health officials are still trying to figure out the source. Operators of the restaurant, located at 1519 Lakewood Rd., have been co-operative, the news release said.

confirmed as the source of the infection, it is known that all of the lab-confirmed cases involved people who ate food from Mama Nita’s Binalot.

The website for Mama Nita’s Binalot says it serves authentic Filipino food that can be ordered for delivery.

E. coli in Tavistock Canada

I was sweet on a girl from a dairy farm in Tavistock back in high school, about 20 minutes from Brantford.

It’s sorta the dairy producing hub of Ontario (that’s in Canada) and now public health types have launched an investigation into two E. coli cases.

In a release issued Tuesday afternoon, public health said in response to questions from the community they are investigating all risk factors of E. coli.

“Municipal drinking water is not a suspected cause and remains safe to drink,” the release said.

Oxford County Public Health received a first report of E. coli in a Tavistock resident in mid-February, with a second report following one month later in March.

Residents who suspect they have E. coli should seek medical attention and contact Public Health at 519-539-9800, ext. 3500 or 1-800-755-0394.

 

Canada’s Good Butcher not so good: E. coli O157:H7 found in lean ground beef

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume the products described below due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination.

Check to see if you have the products in your home. If the products are in your home, do not consume them.

This warning was triggered by CFIA test results. The CFIA is conducting a food safety investigation, which may lead to the recall of these or other products. If products are recalled, the CFIA will notify the public through a Food Recall Warning.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.

Compelling food safety messaging

I am always fascinated with the garbage hygiene/food safety messaging that I come across during my travels. The same boring food safety posters over and over again and yet there they are, plastered on the wall doing absolutely nothing. Have we lost complete creativity or are some organizations convinced these actually work?  They don’t, they are not compelling and people are not going to pay attention.  The intention is admirable but we need to do better.

Ben and Doug devised infosheets as a means to grasp people’s attention and these were tested for validity and work. We are striving to develop Barfblog TV using comedy and behavioral science to convey messaging which could also potentially be used for corrective action plans or monthly food safety messaging at the retail level. The possibilities are endless, let’s be creative.

 

Kids stricken with food poisoning at a school camp

Nothing is worse than when your child is ill. My son was recently sick with norovirus resulting in a plethora of explosions from both ends. My wife and I took the necessary precautions to avoid getting sick-frequent handwashing and sanitizing cause I realize how contagious this virus can be. Thankfully it worked.

A number of kids were ill at a school camp from food poisoning and one child was prescribed antibiotics. Let’s hope that tests were undertaken first to determine that the cause was bacterial and not viral…..

Riaan van Zyl reports

At least two Fairlands parents are upset with the way a primary school dealt with a food poisoning incident that occurred when their son went on a school camp.
The children were supposed to go on the camp from 5 until 9 March. But on 8 March, the school informed the father that his son and approximately seven other children were on their way home because “they were sick”. When the father went to fetch his son, he immediately took him to the doctor who informed him that the boy had food poisoning. Not only was the boy prescribed strong antibiotics but as a precautionary measure he was also treated for listeriosis.
What upset him and his wife is the delay in informing the parents that their children were ill. “If the children already started getting sick on Tuesday, why were we not informed and why were the children not taken to a doctor and only sent home on the Thursday?” His son also told him that about 30 children became ill, but then he found out that it allegedly was closer to 60 plus two adults.
He is now demanding answers but said the principal is giving him the runaround.
The school declined to comment and referred the Record to the Gauteng Department of Education.

Nebraska basketball team hit with food poisoning

 

I used to play basketball when I was younger and was MVP in high school. Now I would be lucky if I could dribble the ball properly.

I guess it would be hard to practice when you’re on the verge of barfing.

10/11 Now reports

The Nebraska Wesleyan men’s basketball team had to battle food poisoning Monday, as only nine players practiced with several sick, including Head Coach Dale Wellman.

Wellman said he was forced to sleep in his office while he tried to prepare for the national semifinals.

The Prairie Wolves think it was actually the meal before their Elite 8 win that caused over half the team to get sick.

Nebraska Wesleyan advanced to the Final Four over the weekend and will play on Friday in Salem, Virginia.

That will be the program’s fifth Final Four appearance.

Listeria in SA: ‘Fuck you Doug’

Ms Patrick would be proud.

She was my grade 7 teacher and instilled in me an efficiency with words.

So when Seattle lawyer Bill Marler wrote me last night to say, “By the way Fuck you Doug,” I immediately thought, ‘By the way,’ is a waste of words.

Just say, Fuck you Doug.

The issue is 183 dead and 967 sick from Listeria in South Africa.

Every time I see Marler quoted as a food safety expert, I vomit a little bit in my mouth.

Rhetoric is the prose of lawyers.

I don’t like Rush, even though they played at my high school.

 

 

Home canned vegetables linked to botulism

A couple of years ago I ran into a barfblog reader who commented to me, ‘You’re really scared of botulism, aren’t you?’ This wasn’t a random question, it was related to a few things I had posted following over 20 illnesses linked to a potluck dinner at Cross Pointe Free Will Baptist Church in Lancaster, Ohio.

Scared isn’t how I would describe it. Rattled and in awe of are probably better terms. The toxin blocks motor nerve terminals at the myoneural junction, causing paralysis. It starts with the mouth, eyes, face and moves down through the body. It often results in paralysis of the chest muscles and diaphragm, making a ventilator necessary. Months of recovery follow an intoxication.

Maybe I am scared.

There isn’t a whole lot of botulism in the U.S. every year, and not all of it is foodborne – (infant botulism is more common); over the past two decades, improperly home preserved foods are the main source.

According to Punch, fourteen people, including four children, were hospitalised after a mass botulism food poisoning outbreak in southern Kyrgyzstan.

An epidemiological investigation has been conducted and all patients have received the anti-botulinum serum.

The first case of food poisoning in the city of Uzgen in the Osh region was reported on March 11.

According to preliminary data, the poisoning occurred due to eating homemade canned vegetable salad.

A month earlier, 17 people in southern Kyrgyzstan were hospitalised for the same reason.