6 sick; farm owner denies link to Cryptosporidium outbreak

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Douglas Powell

Five visitors to Cotswold Farm Park and one member of staff are being treated for cryptosporidiosis in the UK.

The farm is run by Countryfile TV host Adam Henson.

Dr David Hunt, consultant for health protection in Public Health England (PHE) Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire told the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, “Most of the cases became unwell in April and appear to have visited the park in the Easter holidays. “The park has co-operated fully with the investigation and has put in place a number of extra measures ahead of the upcoming bank holiday to reduce the risk to future visitors.

Today, host Henson issued a statement on the Cotswold Farm Park website, saying, “It’s been incorrectly reported in some media that cases of cryptosporidium have been linked with us.”

The statement also reads, “There is currently no scientific evidence to confirm that these alleged cases, which occurred over four weeks ago, are linked to Cotswold Farm Park.

“However, we do take public health very seriously so have been proactively liaising with the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) and the local Environmental Health department, to investigate a possibility that these cases may be linked.

“Following a site visit with a HSE inspector and an Environmental health officer it was agreed that Cotswold Farm Park follows best practice procedures in our animal contact areas and we have a proactive approach to educating and informing our staff and visitors of the importance of hand washing.

“We would like to reassure our visitors that we are fully compliant with the industry code of practice for avoiding ill health from farm visits and that there is no reason to avoid contact with animals as long as the correct hand washing procedures are followed.”

Given the number of petting zoo outbreaks, adhering to an industry code of practice and bragging about it is far from convincing.

And handwashing is never enough.

But, the health types will continue with their work, and the story will unfold.

A table of petting zoo outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/petting-zoos-outbreaks.

Surveys still suck, here’s an alternative: video observation and data coding methods to assess food handling practices at food service

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Douglas Powell

Ben Chapman, who was a Phd student with me at Guelph and is now plying his trade at North Carolina State University, Tanya MacLaurin, who used to be at Kansas State and is now at Guelph, and me, who used to be at Guelph and now is at Kansas State, got together to create a how-to paper for video observation to measure food safety behaviors. Abstract below.

Eating at foodservice has been identified as a risk factor for foodborne illness. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified four food handler-related factors that contribute to foodborne illness: improper cooking procedures; temperature abuse during storage; lack of hygiene and sanitation by food handlers; cross-contamination between raw and fresh ready to eat foods.

Evaluation of food handler behaviors, important for risk assessment calculations and for the effectiveness of training strategies, has historically been limited to self-reported data, inspection and participatory observation. This article describes the framework of a video observation methodology, novel to food service situations used capture and code food handler practices for analysis.

Through the piloting of this technique in a working foodservice establishment, a number of lessons were learned, including best equipment to use, equipment location and configuration, as well as pitfalls in coding practices. Finding and working with partner organizations and navigating institutional ethics review is also discussed.

Chapman, B., MacLaurin, T. and Powell, D. 2013. Video observation and data coding methods to assess food handling practices at food service. Food Protection Trends. 33 (3). 146–156.

Lend a hand for food safety on World Hand Hygiene Day

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Douglas Powell

The World Health Organization’s World Hand Hygiene Day is on Sunday May 5.

CEO Polly Bennett said the New South Wales Food Authority’s Name and Shame website, which allows consumers to view businesses that have failed to meet food safety standards, had a number of businesses on the register for handwashing offences.

“While the vast majority of businesses do the right thing, there are a few who need to lift their game, and this includes those who have failed to implement correct hand washing measures.

“Hand washing offences are up there in the top five most common food safety breaches under the Food Act, accounting for 13% of breaches in 2010-11.

“In addition to the Name and Shame register that provides the public with information about those businesses who have breached food safety laws, the Authority is also committed to encouraging and promoting training and learning through programs like Food Safety Supervisor.”

Food Safety Supervisor is a training initiative designed to improve skills and knowledge in the industry – with close to 50,000 people in NSW having completed the training.

“I encourage everyone to use today’s World Hand Hygiene Day as a reminder to ensure they are following the rules and keeping themselves, their family and for business – their customers, safe.”

Should you wash your hands after peeing?

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Douglas Powell

A former student sent me this, which nicely summarizes why you should wash your hands after peeing. Sure, some cultures drink urine, it’s essentially sterile unless you have kidney disease, but it’s the junk all around down there that’s being exchanged.

Keep the junk in the trunk, wash your hands.

5 sick; help animals on Isle of Man, get Campylobacter

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Douglas Powell

About five cases of Cryptosporidium and Campylobacter have been reported on the island during the past three months.

It is thought some of those affected may have been involved in helping farmers to rescue livestock after heavy snow last month.

Food Safety Manager Ivan Bratty told BBC that simple precautions must be taken.

“These recent cases serve as a timely reminder of the importance of thorough hand washing after handling livestock and before preparing or handling food to prevent infection and the spread of disease in the community,” he said.

“It is also important for anyone suffering from diarrhoea to avoid swimming pools as Cryptosporidium can survive in chlorinated water.”

Food safety is never simple.

Handwashing sinks now required for NY mobile food vendors handling raw meat

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Douglas Powell

According to Lauren Evans of the gothamist, it’s time for food trucks and carts to grow up and accept some responsibility. The Health Department today released a list of new regulations for the mobile eateries including:

• carts and trucks that prepare raw meat will be required to have a sink for hand-washing;

• facilities that store the trucks and carts overnight will have to keep a log of the dates and times that the units enter and exit; and,

• permit holders will be required to be present during inspections.

Alberta hospitals remove hand sanitizer bottles after death of drunken man

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Douglas Powell

The death of a man in an RCMP cell in southern Alberta has, according to The Star, changed the way hand sanitizer is provided in hospitals.

Mounties took a drunken Kurt Kraus to the Vulcan Hospital in May 2010 and a doctor determined it was safe for him to be taken to a cell in nearby Gleichen to sober up.

A nurse had suspected the chronic alcoholic had ingested some hand sanitizer while at the hospital, but no one knew he had also swallowed 10 anti-depressant pills.

Within minutes of being placed in the cell, the 46-year-old stopped breathing.

A fatality inquiry in Calgary heard the man’s death was caused by the combination of drugs and alcohol — his blood alcohol level was more than four times the legal driving limit.

A judge made no recommendations, but noted that hospitals have since removed all portable bottles of hand sanitizer and replaced them with wall-mounted dispensers in public areas.

Over the past decade when hand sanitizers were all the rage, I heard several stories of hospital floors mysteriously losing their stash of sanitizer.

And there was this one time, when migrant produce workers in Ontario moved on and the supply of sanitizer also moved on.

Why food preparers should wash hands: Frenzal Rhomb singer Jay Whalley has pig tapeworm removed from brain after eating contaminated vegetarian burrito

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Douglas Powell

The lead singer of Australian punk band Frenzel Rhomb has revealed he has had surgery to remove a pig tapeworm from his brain.

Huffington Post reports that Jay Whalley is a vegetarian – something which has prompted a horrified chorus of WTFs from around the world.

Thoughtful Whalley took to Facebook to explain all – and supplied a gruesome picture of the scar too.

It all began in January with the 40-year-old singer experiencing a series of seizures which led to the discovery of what doctors thought was a potentially cancerous brain tumour.

Later tests revealed it was neurocysticercosis – an infection caused by a pork tapeworm (cysticercosis) which had found its way into his brain.

Whalley recounted the subsequent conversation with his doctor: “A what tapeworm?”

“A pig “

“A pig?!? I’m f—ing vegetarian! How did I get the egg from a f—ing pig worm in my brain?!?”

It appears the parasite ended up in Whalley’s head after the eggs were transferred to him from the feces of an infected person via ingestion – in this case en route a vegetarian burrito prepared by an infected chef who didn’t wash his hands properly.

The parasite is most commonly found in Mexico and large parts of Central America – and Whalley’s infection was traced back to a visit to the region four years ago.

Evaluation of a hand hygiene campaign in outpatient health care clinics

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Douglas Powell

Full kudos to my colleague Kate KuKanich, an assistant professor in the veterinary college at Kansas State, for managing clinics, a kid, bringing me duck eggs when I’m in town, and shepherding this project through to completion.

It’s the third paper we’ve published together in two years, with another one on the way. Who says I can’t collaborate.

Evaluation of a hand hygiene campaign in outpatient health care clinics

Am J Nurs. 2013 Feb

Kukanich KS, Kaur R, Freeman LC, Powell, D.A.

Abstract

An intervention improved the frequency of hand hygiene attempts.

OBJECTIVE:

To improve hand hygiene in two outpatient health care clinics through the introduction of a gel sanitizer and an informational poster.

METHODS:

In this interventional study, health care workers at two outpatient clinics were observed for frequency of hand hygiene (attempts versus opportunities). Gel sanitizer and informational posters were introduced together as an intervention. Direct observation of the frequency of hand hygiene was performed during baseline, intervention, and follow-up. A post-study survey of health care workers was also distributed and collected.

RESULTS:

In both clinics, the frequency of hand hygiene was poor at baseline (11% and 21%) but improved significantly after intervention (36% and 54%) and was maintained through the follow-up period (32% and 51%). Throughout the study, post-contact hand hygiene was observed significantly more often than pre-contact hand hygiene. In both clinics, health care workers reported a preference for soap and water; yet observations showed that when the intervention made gel sanitizer available, sanitizer use predominated. Fifty percent of the surveyed health care workers considered the introduction of gel sanitizer to be an effective motivating tool for improving hand hygiene.

CONCLUSIONS:

Hand hygiene performance by health care workers in outpatient clinics may be improved through promoting the use of gel sanitizer and using informational posters. Compared with surveys, direct observation by trained observers may provide more accurate information about worker preferences for hand hygiene tools.

UK kids set handwashing training record; but was it effective?

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Douglas Powell

The UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) is very proud and pleased to announce that the e–Bug Team, which is part of the HPA, in collaboration with School Councils UK has been successful in setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous hand hygiene lesson at multiple venues.

To be successful in setting the new record at least 1,000 participants across ten venues had to take part in the lesson starting at 10am on 15 October, 2012.

This particular day was chosen as it marks Global Handwashing Day. The day aims to raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap which is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and acute respiratory infections.

The record breaking challenge e-Bug were set was truly smashed as a total of 2,147 children from 21 schools took part from around the UK.

A key feature of the lesson is that teachers and children use fun interactive resources such as the ‘snot runway’ to show how far a sneeze can travel. Pretend germs are used to show how easily real germs can pass from person-to-person in a sneeze and on our hands.

Probably tamer than this video, forwarded by friend-of-the-blog Michele. I’m not sure of the accuracy, but the animation is sorta cool.

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