The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is investigating a suspected outbreak of food poisoning in a tour group, and hence urged the public to maintain good personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent food-borne diseases.
Because all foodborne illness is caused by poor personal hygiene, and not contaminated product.
Not
The outbreak affected six members of the tour group, comprising two men and four women aged from 44 to 80, who developed abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting 14 to 40 hours after their lunch buffet in a restaurant in a hotel in Macau on August 13 arranged by a travel agent in Hong Kong.
Among them, three sought medical attention in Hong Kong and required no hospitalisation. All affected persons have been in stable condition.
The stool specimen of one patient tested positive for Vibrio parahaemolyticus upon laboratory testing.
Jane White Cunningham, who had battled leukemia since 2016, had several limbs removed prior to her death in an effort to combat the infection, according to the Houston Chronicle.
“There has been a lot of swelling in her extremities and a lot of pain,” David Cunningham, the 56-year-old’s husband, wrote in an Aug. 8 Facebook post. “Today they had to amputate both legs and her left arm in an attempt to save her life as the infection was spreading rapidly.”
Cunningham was being cared for a Gulfort Mississippi Hospital, with health officials pointing to the bacteria Vibrio as a cause of infection, CBS DFW reported.
Salmonella enterica serotype Dublin is a cattle-adapted bacterium that typically causes bloodstream infections in humans.
To summarize demographic, clinical, and antimicrobial drug resistance characteristics of human infections with this organism in the United States, we analyzed data for 1968–2013 from 5 US surveillance systems.
During this period, the incidence rate for infection with Salmonella Dublin increased more than that for infection with other Salmonella. Data from 1 system (FoodNet) showed that a higher percentage of persons with Salmonella Dublin infection were hospitalized and died during 2005–2013 (78% hospitalized, 4.2% died) than during 1996-2004 (68% hospitalized, 2.7% died). Susceptibility data showed that a higher percentage of isolates were resistant to >7 classes of antimicrobial drugs during 2005–2013 (50.8%) than during 1996–2004 (2.4%).
Epidemiology of Salmonella enterica Serotype Dublin infections among humans, United State, 1968-2013
Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 23, no. 9, September 2017, R. Reid Harvey, Cindy R. Friedman, Stacy M. Crim, Michael Judd, Kelly A. Barrett, Beth Tolar, Jason P. Folster, Patricia M. Griffin, and Allison C. Brown
One of my fondest childhood memories was the rain barrels my grandparents used to collect water.
I have no idea why, other than a foreshadowing of somewhat of a career in microbiology, but the memories remain vivid.
Now we live in Australia, which has 10 years of drought followed by a 1-in-500-year downpour, so we have these bloody big rain water collection tanks that look nothing like my grandparents.’
A pregnant woman needed hospital treatment and doctors were made available for 49 other guests following the outbreak at the four-star Hotel Algarb in Playa d’en Bossa,
A probe is now underway to establish the cause, although it has been initially linked to rainwater from midweek storms on the island filtering into hotel water tanks and ending up being used to make ice.
The mum-to-be who was hospitalised with “light gastroenteritis” has now been discharged.
Every day after work I look forward to playing and hugging my 2 kids, it’s what keeps me going and motivated to enjoy life to its’ fullest. The following story is heartbreaking to read…
Cole Hansberger has been in the Intensive Care Unit at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale since Aug. 6, his first birthday. The day before he turned 1, Cole’s mother, Jackie Hansberger, noticed his head was drooping as he crawled. By 5 p.m., that evening, Cole could no longer crawl. At 3 a.m., the next morning, he could no longer sit up, she said. The Peoria woman took her son to an emergency room, after which he was then transferred to Banner Thunderbird to be further evaluated. Cole eventually was diagnosed with botulism, a rare condition that affects about 110 people per year in the United States, 72 percent of them infants, according to Banner officials. Botulism is caused by ingesting spores of bacteria found in dirt, soil, dusty areas and certain foods. These spores produce toxins that can lead to paralysis, said Dr. Rahul Chawla, pediatric critical-care physician at Thunderbird Medical Center who is treating Cole. Jackie Hansberger said she hasn’t been home since Cole was admitted to intensive care. “I refuse to leave his bedside,” she told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday. “Every day I sit, stare at the monitor all day, just to make sure my son’s breathing and he’s OK. “Sometimes you get frustrated with your children, but I would pay a million dollars just to hear my son cry right now. I haven’t held him in over a week.” Hansberger described Cole as rambunctious and amazing. His eyes and smile light up the room, she said. She also has a 4-year-old son who is at home with her husband. Chawla works 24-hour shifts and said he often gets close with a patient’s parents. “Cole’s mom’s a rock,” he said. “I don’t think she’s left the unit.” Hansberger has been told Cole faces a long recovery, but doctors offer a hopeful prognosis. According to Chawla, Cole is still critically ill. He is on a ventilator and has minimal movement in his arms and legs. He will remain in intensive care for the next week to 10 days. Cole will have to learn muscle memory again and undergo physical therapy sessions, which could last months. But Chawla said Cole should be able to return to a normal life. Chawla said people should know the symptoms of botulism so they can seek medical attention immediately. He said Cole’s symptoms were a classic indicator: muscle weakness, often starting with the nerves in the face and moving downward to the legs. Chawla said people should avoid ingesting or being exposed to dirt, and washing fruits and vegetables to reduce the chances of botulism. Hansberger wants all parents to be aware of botulism, although it is extremely rare. “As a parent, you never expect it,” she said. “It’s a very scary experience. It humbles you as a person. Nothing else matters except in the moment.” A GoFundMe account has been set up for Cole and his family
The United Nations‘ General Assembly will discuss in Sept. whether to establish a World Food Safety Day.
The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization has already adopted a draft resolution that puts the wheels in motion for this international day. The resolution has been forwarded to the secretary-general of the United Nations so that it can be added to the organization’s September agenda. If the resolution passes through the General Assembly, World Food Safety Day would be set for June 7 of each year, the F.A.O. says.
World Food Safety Day would “raise awareness of the global threat posed by foodborne diseases and reinforce the need for governments, the food industry, and individuals to do more to make food safe and prevent these diseases,” said Ren Wang, director of F.A.O.’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection.
The draft resolution clearly states that “there is no food security without food safety, and that in a world where the food supply chain has become global, any food safety incident has global negative effects on public health, trade, and the economy.”
And we all have bare-knuckle boxing champs in our past.
My 30-year-old daughter e-mailed me this morning to ask about our family. She said she had a DNA test.
I took the don’t-ask-a-question-unless-you-want-an-answer route – and told her it’s all on ancestry.com, go look it up, but you may have to like your step-sister.
I’ve got three passports: Canadian, American, Australian.
It’s homogenized white, but at least I can remember them.
Sorenne is about to get her third, once we find her Canadian thingy under my name.
Australian politicians are apparently brain-dead.
Barnaby Joyce (right, not exactly as shown), the Donald Trump of Australia, deputy Prime Minister and Agricrlture Minister, didn’t know he was born a kiwi (like Russell Crowe)
Section 44 of the Australian Constitution says
Any person who –
(i.) Is under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or citizen of a foreign power: or
(ii.) Is attainted of treason, or has been convicted and is under sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for any offence punishable under the law of the Commonwealth or of a State by imprisonment for one year or longer: or
(iii.) Is an undischarged bankrupt or insolvent: or
(iv.) Holds any office of profit under the Crown, or any pension payable during the pleasure of the Crown out of any of the revenues of the Commonwealth: or
(v.) Has any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company consisting of more than twenty-five persons:
shall be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.
Australian politics is as awfull as the country’s ability to hook up decent Internet.
NZ Herald reports Switzerland’s first insect-based food aimed at humans will go on sale next week after a revision of the country’s food safety laws, a supermarket chain has revealed. Switzerland’s second-largest supermarket chain, Coop, announced it would begin selling an insect burger and insect balls, based on protein-rich mealworm. According to the Daily Mail, the products, made by a Swiss startup called Essento, will be available in a handful of Coop branches, including in Geneva, Bern and Zurich, as of August 21. Switzerland is the first European country to authorise the sale of insect-based food for human consumption, a spokeswoman for the country’s food safety authority told AFP. Swiss food safety laws were changed in May to allow the sale of food containing crickets, grasshoppers and mealworms, which are the larval form of the mealworm beetle. The insects, long used in animal feed, must be bred under strict supervision for four generations before they are considered suitable for human consumption, according to Swiss law. Local production will thus take a few months to get started. In the meantime, imports are possible under strict conditions: the insects must be raised in accordance with the Swiss requirements at a company submitted to inspections by national food safety authorities. Insect dishes are already the norm in other countries. According to the University of California, Riverside, eating insects, called entomophagy, has been practised by humans for thousands of years. It’s still common in many tropical countries – according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, insects supplement the diets of about two billion people. A popular snack food in Thailand, called jing leed, features deep-fried crickets served with a soy-type sauce. In New Zealand, cricket flour and other insect flours are being introduced in specialist stores and at certain Mexico restaurants you can try cricket flour tortillas.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reports in the course of diagnosing the cause of fever, muscle and joint pain, and fatigue in a Texas resident, blood culture results revealed that the patient was infected with Brucella. Through investigation by DSHS, the most probable source of the infection was determined to be raw cow’s milk which the person had been consuming. The source of the milk was K-Bar Dairy, a licensed raw milk dairy in Paradise, Texas.
DSHS is concerned that other people who consumed raw milk from K-Bar Dairy may also have been exposed to Brucella and became infected. Brucellosis may cause short-term and long-term disease. Without specific testing, this disease may elude correct diagnosis, and without appropriate antibiotic therapy, illness may persist.
Health care providers should consider Brucellosis among differential diagnoses when a patient presents with a clinically-compatible constellation of signs and symptoms. The patient should be asked about risk factors for Brucellosis. A key question affecting the level of suspicion of Brucellosis in this scenario is the patient’s consumption of raw milk or raw milk products from K-Bar Dairy in Paradise Texas in Wise County since June 1, 2017. These individuals are considered to be at high risk of contracting brucellosis. Consumers are advised not to consume any raw milk or raw milk products from K-Bar Dairy that are still in their possession and to discard it.
At this time, it is uncertain how long Brucella may have been present in the raw milk from this dairy. Testing is ongoing in an attempt to answer that question. If a patient seeks consultation because they consumed raw milk or raw milk products from this dairy between January and June, 2017 they should be advised to be watchful for signs of chronic Brucellosis and clinically evaluated as appropriate.
Town officials say mixing livestock and meditative exercise is not allowed and have ordered farm owners to stop the sessions. The farmers say they will not stop, so the confrontation will continue at least through the end of the month, when a zoning board of appeals hearing is scheduled.
For the past several weeks, guests at the 5.6-acre farm have paid $25 each to do the “downward dog” and other yoga moves while small goats clamber on their backs, nuzzle their faces and occasionally pee on their mats. The farm in the town’s northeastern corner runs a total of four, hour-long sessions on weekends, and classes average 48 participants, farm co-owner Tracy Longoria said Monday.
Through the plan of conservation and development, Manchester leaders have encouraged the town’s few remaining farmers to diversify, and that’s what she and her partner have done, Longoria said. Aussakita (a pairing of two popular dog breed names) offers duck eggs, pet pigs, alpaca fur, close encounters with miniature llamas – and for the past several weeks, yoga with goats. It’s all part of surviving as a Connecticut farmer, Longoria says.
A cease and desist order issued on July 26 says the activity violates rules on allowed uses in “rural residence” zones. A special exception approval or variance would be required, Zoning Enforcement Officer Jim Davis wrote in the order. Failure to comply with the order, Davis wrote, could result in fines of up to $2,500 per violation. The zoning board of appeals has scheduled a public hearing on the issue for Aug. 30.
Because all foodborne illness is caused by poor personal hygiene, and not contaminated product.
