The Local reports that Danish Patient Safety Authority (Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed, DPSA) has confirmed that two children have died as a result of complications related to E. coli poisoning. The two cases are not connected.
Two children – one on the island of Funen and another in the Copenhagen area – died due to a rare complication related to VTEC, a strain of the E. Coli bacteria.
Both children died of kidney failure, but the two tragic cases are not connected. A third child also contracted kidney failure but survived, DPSA said.
A consultant doctor and head of department at Copenhagen infectious disease research institute SSI stressed that the cases were not evidence of an outbreak and that the number of cases was not improbable.
Julie Gilmartin, 39, said her son Matthew Bennett, 10, started to develop symptoms including diarrhea on the plane home from a week-long stay at the Bone Club Sunset Hotel & Spa, Antalya, at the start of July.
Stacey Mullen of the Herald Scotland writes the youngster, from Penilee, Glasgow, was then seen by a GP, who requested a stool sample after the boy experienced further symptoms, including severe abdominal pains and passing blood.
His health deteriorated and he was taken to A&E, where he was admitted to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow for more than three days.
Following several tests, his mother was advised Matthew had been diagnosed with E.coli O157, a serious bacterial infection that can cause serious long-term complications and sometimes even death.
Ms Gilmartin, a customer assistant at Sainsbury’s, said: “Matthew went to the toilet a few times on the plane journey home, which seemed odd for him.
“Then, as the days passed, there was clearly something wrong. He didn’t eat well and started to suffer from further issues, like stomach cramps.
“I ended up calling the NHS 24-hour helpline and was told straight away to take him to hospital. It was awful to see how the illness affected him and they [doctors] felt they had no choice to admit him. It was horrendous.”
Ms Gilmartin and Matthew, along with his father Henry and younger brother Ollie, arrived at the Turkish resort on July 6, after booking the break through Jet2. She added: “I was stunned to get the news that Matthew’s illness was E.coli.
“I’m just so frustrated we went away for what should have been a nice, family break, only for this to happen.
“It is awful and we deserve some answers as to how Matthew’s illness emerged and whether it could have been prevented.
“Although I had seen some concerning issues in relation to the cleanliness and hygiene in the restaurant, such as roaming cats and food sometimes being served lukewarm, I never thought I was at serious risk of illness. I dread to think that other children might be running the risk of also being affected.”
Sushi and sashimi is one of those foods that splits the food safety nerd world. Some folks eat it, some don’t.
That’s really a personal risk management decision.
There’s lots going on in a sushi restaurant risk-wise: holding rice at room temperature for a long time, to allow for easy rolling increases the risk of Bacillus cereus illnesses; the fish can have parasitic worms from the water environment living in them; and, there’s been an ongoing issue related to Salmonella likely due to processing handling (see back scrape).
It can all be done with reduced risk – but it takes dedication from buyers, suppliers and food handlers.
Control the B. cereus in rice with acidification, temperature control or time.
Address parasites with freezing.
Limit Salmonella through supplier controls.
Folks in Majorca, Spain apparently recently ate at a restaurant that wasn’t great at risk management, according to the always fun Sun.
Twenty-four customers fell ill after dining at Dragon Sushi restaurant in the city of Palma de Majorca, in the eastern Spanish region of Majorca.
However, reviewers offered mixed opinions about the grub on offer at the tourist hotspot eatery.
In a review entitled “Worst sushi ever!”, a reviewer said: “This place had the worst sushi I’ve ever had in my life.”
Meanwhile in another review titled “Terrible!! Never go again!! Pinworms in my edamame!!”, another diner said: “I really can’t recommend this sushi restaurant! Worst sushi ever in my life!!”
Local health councillor Patricia Gomez confirmed that 24 cases of food poisoning had taken place among clients who said they ate at the Japanese food outlet last weekend.
A spokeswoman for the Health Department said the victims are suffering symptoms including “gastroenteritis” and further tests are being carried out to find out what caused the illness.
According to local media, many of the victims – including children – are still in hospital after suffering diarrhoea, fever and vomiting.
My amateur epi guess is that it’s a rice/B. cereus outbreak.
Don and Ben are joined by friend Gordon Hayburn, dog judge and VP food safety and quality at Trophy Foods. The guys talk dogs, monorchids and online food discussions. They go on to talk about plant-based meat alternatives, is chicken really chicken and the fallout and management of food fraud. The episode ended on how food safety culture gets implemented and a discussion of kebab, er, KABOB, making.
A few hundred Chaource raw milk cheese brands Lincet and Gaugry, sold throughout France, are subject to a recall procedure after the demonstration of the presence of Escherichia coli. A check has highlighted in these products, manufactured by the Lincet cheese factory in Vaudes in the Aube, the presence of Escherichia coli O111: H8, indicates the cheese Friday in a statement.
This bacterium is likely to cause serious problems in anyone consuming the product, she adds. Nearly 700 Chaource AOP cheeses of 500 grams raw milk, bearing the lot number 227.210 and with a deadline of consumption to 27 September 2019, are concerned, according to the press release.
Lincet brand cheeses have been sold in a variety of supermarket chains, both traditional and fresh, while Gaugry branded cheeses have been distributed in the dairy and market channels.
A large-scale study of the genetic differences and similarities among E. coli bacteria from cattle and humans indicates that features causing food poisoning in humans may continuously be emerging in bacteria from cattle as a means to better adapt to their environment.
While E. coli bacteria are one of the most well-known causes of food poisoning, a wide variety of E. coli strains exists, many of which are harmless, permanent residents of our intestines. However, the ingestion of harmful strains of E. coli on contaminated food can lead to severe illness, vomiting, and diarrhea.
“To develop the most effective preventive measures, we need a deep understanding of the source and living conditions of the bacteria,” says Yoshitoshi Ogura, associate professor at Kyushu University’s Department of Bacteriology, who led the research.
“Although cattle have long been thought to be a main source of E. coli that cause food poisoning, why dangerous forms would keep appearing in cattle has been unclear.”
Ogura’s group, in collaboration with researchers across Japan and in France, Belgium, and the United States, set out to help answer this question by investigating the genetics of E. coli bacteria collected from cattle and humans in 21 countries spanning six continents.
“To date, there have been only a limited number of reports of the genome sequences of E. coli from cattle, so we needed to fill that gap,” comments Yoko Arimizu, first author on the paper in Genome Research announcing the new results.
While the largest number of samples was from Japan, strains from other regions exhibited characteristics that were well distributed among those from Japan, indicating a good diversity of the set of samples.
Based on the genetic features of the bacteria, the researchers could generally separate the different strains of E. coli into two groups, with one primarily consisting of bacteria collected from humans and the other of those from cattle.
Applying the same analysis to clinically obtained E. coli that are known to cause illness, the researchers found that most of the strains causing intestinal problems belonged to the group associated with cattle.
Furthermore, many of the samples from cattle exhibited features similar to those causing food poisoning, such as the production of Shiga toxin. While these features generally appear not to cause illness in cattle, their prevalence in the investigated samples suggests that such characteristics are beneficial for life in a cattle’s intestine.
“As long as there is pressure to maintain or strengthen these illness-producing characteristics to better adapt to living in a cattle’s intestine, new variants of E. coli that cause food poisoning are likely to continue appearing,” states Ogura.
The researchers speculate that these characteristics may help E. coli protect itself from bacteria-eating organisms present in cattle intestines, but more work is needed to identify the exact reason.
They were looking into E.coli and how it seeks out the most oxygen-free parts of the human colon to cause the worst possible infection in the body.
According to a release, this new discovery shows how the pathogen knows where and when to begin colonizing the colon on the way to making a person sick.
E.coli reportedly can recognize the low-oxygen environment of the large intestine, which is where it can give itself the best odds of establishing a robust infection.
“Bacterial pathogens typically colonize a specific tissue in the host. Therefore, as part of their infection strategies, bacterial pathogens precisely time deployment of proteins and toxins to these specific colonization niches in the human host,” said researcher Melissa Kendall, PhD, of the UVA Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology. “This allows the pathogens to save energy and avoid detection by our immune systems and ultimately cause disease. By knowing how bacterial pathogens sense where they are in the body, we may one day be able to prevent E. coli, as well as other pathogens, from knowing where it is inside a human host and allow it to pass through the body without causing an infection.”
Humans naturally have E.coli in the colon, and most strains do not cause harm.
However, there are several strains that can cause cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, kidney failure and even death, especially in children.
Oxygen diffuses from the intestinal tissues into the gut, and the small intestine contains comparably higher levels than the large E.coli.
The pathogen waits until it has reached the lower oxygen large intestine before trying to establish an infection.
E.coli has a vital asset in the form of RNA, which activates particular genes when oxygen levels get low enough.
That is when the infection can become established, at which time, the bacteria begin to manufacture Shiga toxins, which are harmful to people.
It is believed other bacterial pathogens, like Shigella and Salmonella, may use a similar control mechanism, but more research is needed to establish that.
The findings concerning E.coli have been published in the scientific journal PNAS.
Due to the potential of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) serogroup O157 to cause large food borne outbreaks, national and international surveillance is necessary.
For developing an effective method of molecular surveillance, a conventional method, multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA), and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis were compared. WGS of 369 isolates of EHEC O157 belonging to 7 major MLVA types and their relatives were subjected to comprehensive in silico typing, core genome single nucleotide polymorphism (cgSNP), and core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) analyses. The typing resolution was the highest in cgSNP analysis. However, determination of the sequence of the mismatch repair protein gene mutS is necessary because spontaneous deletion of the gene could lead to a hypermutator phenotype. MLVA had sufficient typing resolution for a short-term outbreak investigation and had advantages in rapidity and high throughput. cgMLST showed less typing resolution than cgSNP, but it is less time-consuming and does not require as much computer power. Therefore, cgMLST is suitable for comparisons using large data sets (e.g., international comparison using public databases). In conclusion, screening using MLVA followed by cgMLST and cgSNP analyses would provide the highest typing resolution and improve the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of EHEC O157 surveillance.
IMPORTANCE Intensive surveillance for enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) serogroup O157 is important to detect outbreaks and to prevent the spread of the bacterium. Recent advances in sequencing technology made molecular surveillance using whole-genome sequence (WGS) realistic. To develop rapid, high-throughput, and cost-effective typing methods for real-time surveillance, typing resolution of WGS and a conventional typing method, multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA), was evaluated. Nation-level systematic comparison of MLVA, core genome single nucleotide polymorphism (cgSNP), and core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) indicated that a combination of WGS and MLVA is a realistic approach to improve EHEC O157 surveillance.
Effective surveillance using multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis and whole-genome sequencing for enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Kenichi Lee, Hidemasa Izumiya, Sunao Iyoda, Makoto Ohnishi and EHEC Working Group
In the late 1990s, as on-farm food safety programs started to gain traction at the producer end – and a requirement by retailers – I had a couple of memorable conversations.
Genetically engineered Bt-corn was introduced in 1996 and growers loved it. But powerful technology requires powerful management so at least 20 per cent of a corn field had to be non-Bt-corn — a refuge — to stall the development of resistance. A grower told me he didn’t pay attention to that, his neighbor was his refuge.
At an informal meeting of chicken producers, one told me the paperwork wasn’t onerous, he sat down by the fire on Friday nights and filled out a week’s worth.
I told him it was supposed to be in real time.
But neither of these examples are as a Stafford Springs meat supplier who pled guilty to fabricating E. coli test results in federal court.
Officials told Doug Stewart of Fox 61 Memet Beqiri, also known as Matt Beqiri, 32, of Tolland, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Tuesday in Hartford federal court to a charge related to his meat processing business’s falsification of numerous E. coli test results.
Beqiri pleaded guilty to one count of making and using a false document and aiding and abetting, a charge that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 12, 2019. Beqiri was released on a $25,000 bond.
Ryan J. Woolf, the attorney for Matt Beqiri, said his client was made aware of the issue and worked to rectify the situation. He also said this will “never happen again,” and that “no injuries, illness resulted from this issue.”
Beqiri is the owner and general manager of New England Meat Packing, LLC, in Stafford Springs.
Officials said the company is required to perform one generic E. coli carcass swab for every 300 animals slaughtered and to periodically collect ground beef samples for E. coli testing.
Officials said, “Between November 3, 2016 and September 9, 2017, Beqiri authorized the preparation and submission in the company’s Lab Sample Report binder, which the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) reviews, a total of 36 documents relating to 52 separate carcass swabs and ground beef samples on behalf of New England Meat Packing. The 36 documents were each on the letterhead of a certified laboratory that tests food product samples to ensure safety and wholesomeness and signed by the laboratory director. The documents stated that the required E. coli testing of samples submitted by New England Meat Packing had been conducted and completed, and that all 52 samples tested negative for E. coli. In fact, none of the 52 carcass swabs and samples had been submitted or tested by the identified laboratory, or any other laboratory, and the 36 documents were fraudulently prepared using laboratory letterhead obtained from previous testing that New England Meat Packing had conducted with that laboratory.”
Officials said Beqiri admitted to an investigator with USDA’s FSIS that the documents were fraudulent, and that his business did not collect and submit the samples to the certified laboratory because he did not correlate the potential impact on food safety with his sampling program and wanted to create the appearance he was compliant with all USDA HACCP testing requirements.
There have been no known instances of illnesses reported by anyone who consumed the meat in any of the states where the meat was distributed, according to officials.
Don and I were part of the latest episode of Underunderstood where we chat about the food safety risks associated with roasted green chiles (that started out frozen, and ended up ‘cool to the touch’) being in lost luggage for a couple of days.
Two children – one on the island of Funen and another in the Copenhagen area – died due to a rare complication related to VTEC, a strain of the E. Coli bacteria.
