Salmonella in French cheese

Posted on December 3, 2017 by Douglas Powell

During a routine check, the presence of Salmonella was found in the product Herbie Fenugreek, cheese block +/- 200 g with expiry date 24/01/2018 and batch number L14 319 UU: MM. No other product in the range is concerned. This product has been sold in different Delhaize stores in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

In collaboration with the AFSCA, Kaasimport Jan Dupont nv. decided to withdraw the proceeds from the sale and to recall the products already sold. Product Description: – Product Name: Block Herbie Fenugreek Cheese +/- 200 g – Brand: Herbie – Manufacturer: Het Hinkelspel – To consume until the 24/01/2018 – The lot number is on the back label, just above the bar code: L14 319 UU: MM – Weight: +/- 200 gr – Product packaging: transparent film with 2 labels – Sales period: from 16/11/2017 to 28/11/2017 – Approval number: BE CO 378 A EG – The variable EAN code starting with: 29537875 XXXXX Customers are advised not to consume Herbie Fenugreek Cheese and return it to Delhaize Point of Sale. When returning the product, it will be refunded.

Cyclosporiasis – France ex Mexico

Posted on July 15, 2017 by Douglas Powell

This case of cyclospora may have no relation to the Canadian outbreak; or may.

A 64-year-old French [female] with type 2 diabetes mellitus was referred to our department on [Mon 3 Jul 2017] because she was suffering from protracted diarrhea.

Symptoms began on [Sat 10 Jun 2017] as she was just returning from a touristic trip in Cancun (Quintana Roo State, Mexico) where she stayed from [Mon 29 May to Fri 9 Jun 2017] with her husband.

She acknowledged having moderate watery diarrhea with abdominal discomfort, bloating, transient vomiting, 5 kg weight [approx. 11.02 pounds] loss and fatigue. Empiric therapy with oral Metronidazole 500 mg 3 times a day for 7 days she received previously failed to improve her symptoms. Of note, a 1st microscopic stool examination failed to identify parasites and no enteropathogenic bacteria was found by culture on selective media.

Up to 3 extra stool specimens where sent to the laboratory of clinical parasitology in our hospital.

Oocysts of Cyclospora cayetanensis where evidenced by autofluorescence after Bailenger concentration technique.

French boy permanently disabled by E. coli in frozen beef

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Douglas Powell

In June, 2011, eight children in Northern France were initially diagnosed with E. coli O157 after eating beef burgers bought from German discount retailer, Lidl.

In May 2012, the Institut de veille sanitaire summarized the outbreak, and revealed 17 children were sickened, 16 from E. coli O157-O177 and 1 due to E. coli O157-O26.

Now, a trial has begun for two former executives of French frozen food company SEB, charged with a “deliberate violation of safety obligations” that put customers at risk and caused involuntary injuries. Their trial began on Tuesday, June 6, and the two men face prison if convicted.

SEB has since gone out of business.

According to The Local, in 2011 a two-year-old boy named Nolan Moittie was one of 17 people in France who became seriously ill after eating steak hachés, or chopped steak patties, that were contaminated with E. coli bacteria, and which had been sold frozen at a Lidl grocery store. The illness caused the two-year-old boy to have a heart attack and fall into a coma while in the hospital.

The E. coli infection caused irreversible damage, and while Moittie survived and is now eight years old, he can’t talk and no longer has the use of 80 percent of his body. Doctors say the damage is irreversible.

But neither man is accepting responsibility and the defense is claiming that the illness from the minced beef was a result of consumers not storing and preparing them properly.

Just cook it doesn’t cut it.

“Money as they say, won’t bring you happiness, and it won’t help my son get back to how he was before,” his mother Priscilla said.

Steak hachés are a staple dish in France, particularly among children. In 2009 some 250,000 tonnes were sold, half of which were sold as frozen products.

Not everything is food safety

Posted on May 17, 2017 by Ben Chapman

Travel woes en route to an FAO meeting (oh, that is a food safety hook) in Russia resulted in me having 12 hours to kill in Paris. Instead of staying in the city, I did something today that I’ve thought about for a while but had not had the chance- rented the world’s smallest stick shift car and traveled to Normandy. I drove through the French countryside and walked along Juno Beach where many Canadians landed on D-Day.

Most emotional for me was seeing an area of the world that had an impact on my life – the small villages of Le Mesnil-Patry and Norrey-en-Bessin. My grandfather, who Sam is named for, was part of a small group of seven that survived a battle where their company lost 98 soldiers. My grandfather was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal. Although we were very close he never spoke about it.

300 French schoolchildren sickened by ‘gone-off cheese’

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Douglas Powell

Katie Forster of The Independent reports a dodgy batch of smelly French cheese has been blamed for a mass food poisoning outbreak at schools in Normandy.

All French cheese smalls bad.

Dodgy is not a microbiologically–specific term.

An investigation launched after 300 children fell ill in the town of Rouen named the culprit as gone-off cheese served up by school canteens.

One parent said her child would be avoiding school meals after the scandal, telling local media: “I’d prefer to take them to a fast food place”.

Local authorities inspected the producers of the cheese – a soft, mould-ripened local variety called neufchâtel – but were unable to identify the origin of the contamination.

The children began to suffer headaches, vomiting and stomach aches after eating the cheese at 54 different primary schools and nurseries on 27 April.

A survey of 1,000 parents of children in the region, both those affected and not affected by the outbreak, found a “strong association between the consumption of the cheese and the appearance of digestive symptoms,” according to the local health board.

Surely you can’t be cereus: Pay attention to temperature control, esp when cooking for large numbers

Posted on December 3, 2016 by Douglas Powell

The aim of this study was to identify and characterise Bacillus cereus from a unique national collection of 564 strains associated with 140 strong-evidence food-borne outbreaks (FBOs) occurring in France during 2007 to 2014.

Starchy food and vegetables were the most frequent food vehicles identified; 747 of 911 human cases occurred in institutional catering contexts. Incubation period was significantly shorter for emetic strains compared with diarrhoeal strains.

A sub-panel of 149 strains strictly associated to 74 FBOs and selected on Coliphage M13-PCR pattern, was studied for detection of the genes encoding cereulide, diarrhoeic toxins (Nhe, Hbl, CytK1 and CytK2) and haemolysin (HlyII), as well as panC phylogenetic classification. This clustered the strains into 12 genetic signatures (GSs) highlighting the virulence potential of each strain. GS1 (nhe genes only) and GS2 (nhe, hbl and cytK2), were the most prevalent GS and may have a large impact on human health as they were present in 28% and 31% of FBOs, respectively.

Our study provides a convenient molecular scheme for characterisation of B. cereus strains responsible for FBOs in order to improve the monitoring and investigation of B. cereus-induced FBOs, assess emerging clusters and diversity of strains.

Baccillus cereus-induced food-borne outbreaks in France, 2007 to 2014: Epidemiology and genetic characteristics

Eurosurveillance, Vol 21, Issue 48, 01 December 2016

http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=22657

68 sickened with Salmonella from a butcher in France, 2015

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Thanks to my French friend, Albert Amgar, for sending this along.

Between Tuesday 1 September 2015 and Wednesday 2 September 2015, the health monitoring and emergency platform of the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Haute-Normandie received reports of three suspected cases of collective food poisoning due to Salmonella.

These foodborne outbreaks were reported by local laboratories in the same geographical area of the Seine-Maritime (76) district. The first investigative elements contributed to identify that each of the three families had consumed traditionally-prepared ham purchased from the same delicatessen butcher within the 24 to 48 hours preceding the date of symptoms onset among the reported cases.

The epidemiological, microbiological and environmental investigations performed following this report identified a total of 68 cases, including 6 biologically confirmed cases. The results of the cohort study that followed indicated an association between the consumption of prepared meals which were purchased from a delicatessen butcher, and the risk of occurrence of salmonellosis.

Bacteriological analyses identified a strain of Salmonella typhimurium 4,12: i: – with the same Crispol type (CT 797), rarely identified until now. The veterinary survey highlighted several dysfunctions explaining a diffuse contamination of surfaces and tools in the premises and in the food produced by the butcher.

Investigation of a cluster of salmonellosis in the Seine-Maritime district linked to the attendance of a delicatessen butcher in September 2015

Rapport d’investigation. Saint-Maurice : Santé publique France ; 2016. 16 p.

N Nicolay, A Spillebout, M Blanchard, B Cottrelle

http://invs.santepubliquefrance.fr/Publications-et-outils/Rapports-et-syntheses/Maladies-infectieuses/2016/Investigation-de-cas-groupes-de-salmonelloses-en-Seine-Maritime-76-en-lien-avec-la-frequentation-d-un-charcutier-traiteur-septembre-2015

Salmonella in beefburgers in France

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Douglas Powell

A prolonged outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis occurred in northern France between December 2014 and April 2015.

Epidemiological investigations following the initial notification on 30 December 2014 of five cases of salmonellosis (two confirmed S. Enteritidis) in young children residing in the Somme department revealed that all cases frequented the same food bank A. Further epidemiological, microbiological and food trace-back investigations indicated frozen beefburgers as the source of the outbreak and the suspected lot originating from Poland was recalled on 22 January 2015. On 2 March 2015 a second notification of S. Enteritidis cases in the Somme reinitiated investigations that confirmed a link with food bank A and with consumption of frozen beefburgers from the same Polish producer. In the face of a possible persistent source of contamination, all frozen beefburgers distributed by food bank A and from the same origin were blocked on 3 March 2015. Microbiological analyses confirmed contamination by S. Enteritidis of frozen beefburgers from a second lot remaining in cases’ homes. A second recall was initiated on 6 March 2015 and all frozen beefburgers from the Polish producer remain blocked after analyses identified additional contaminated lots over several months of production.

Outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis linked to the consumption of frozen beefburgers received from a food bank and originating from Poland: Northern France, December 2014 to April 2015

Eurosurveillance, Volume 21, Issue 40, 06 October 2016

http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=22605

Norovirus strikes hundreds at obstacle race in France

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Douglas Powell

In June 2015, near Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes department, an acute gastroenteritis (AG) outbreak occurred among participants of an obstacle race. An investigation in 2 phases was conducted to identify the source of infection and document the extent of the outbreak.

During phase 1, a message on Facebook asked the racers to report by email any symptoms. In phase 2, a retrospective study was conducted through an interactive questionnaire for all participants. Cross-sectional descriptive studies were conducted, completed by an analytical study of the potential risks factors. Microbiological and environmental investigations were conducted in order to identify the responsible agent. An analysis of antidiarrhoeal drugs reimbursements was conducted with data from the French national health insurance to confirm the epidemiological investigation.

During phase 1, on 8229 registered participants, at least 1001 adults reported an AG, which was resolved in 48H.

In phase 2, the risks factors of AG identified were due to: younger participants, first hour of departure time and ingestion of mud. Twenty stool specimens traced were negative for bacteriological research. Only 4 stool specimens were sent to the CNR of enteric viruses. They were all positive for Norovirus genogroup1 and genotype 2 (GI.2), strain of human origin.

Indicator bacteria were negative in the drinking water and positive in the muddy water. Outbreak origin was due to human transmission: a norovirus possibly introduced by stools or vomiting from one or more persons infected, transmitted through contaminated muddy water.

For the future, recommendations for the organisation of such events should be proposed. The risks related to these races should be assessed to guide health authorities and to guide organizers in their awareness of potential risks factors.

Investigation of an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis among participants of an Obstacle Adventure Race Alpes-Maritimes

S Giron, C Six

http://invs.santepubliquefrance.fr/Publications-et-outils/Rapports-et-syntheses/Maladies-infectieuses/2016/Investigation-d-une-epidemie-de-gastro-enterites-virales-survenues-apres-une-course-a-obstacles

17 sickened with Hepatitis E linked to undercooked pig-liver stuffing

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Background – On 11 December 2013, 3 clustered cases of hepatitis E were reported on a coastal island in Brittany. Cases had consumed spit-roasted and stuffed piglet during a wedding meal. The raw stuffing was partly made from the piglet liver. Investigations were carried out to identify the source and vehicle of contamination, and evaluate the dispersion of the hepatitis E virus (HEV) in the environment.

Methods – A questionnaire was administered to 98 wedding participants who were asked to give a blood sample. Cases were identified by RT-PCR and anti-HEV serological tests. A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 38 blood sampled participants after the exclusion of participants with evidence of past HEV immunity. Relative risks (RR) with their 95% confidence intervals were calculated based on foods consumed at the wedding meal using univariate and multivariable Poisson regressions.

The human HEV strains were compared with the strains detected in the liquid manure sampled at the farm where the piglet was born and at the inlet of the island wastewater treatment plants.

Results – 17 cases, including 3 confirmed cases, were identified and 70.6% were asymptomatic. Acute HEV infection was independently associated with piglet stuffing consumption (RR=1.69 [1.04-2.73]). Human strains from the index cases, veterinary and environmental HEV strains were identical.

Discussion – The outbreak was attributable to the consumption of an undercooked pig liver-based stuffing. After infection, the cases have probably become a temporary reservoir for HEV, which was detected in the island’s untreated wastewater.

Hepatitis E outbreak associated with the consumption of a spit-roasted piglet, Brittany (France), 2013

Épidémie d’hépatite E associée à la consommation d’un porcelet grillé à la broche, Bretagne, 2013. Bull Epidémiol Hebd. 2016;(26-27):444-9

Y Guillois, F Abravanel, T Miura, N Pavio, V Vaillant, S Lhomme, et al.

http://invs.santepubliquefrance.fr/beh/2016/26-27/2016_26-27_3.html

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