Tag Archives: Illness

Blame the Welsh: illness takes down rugby’s NZ All Blacks

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Just 48 hours before the final test of an arduous season, almost all of the All Blacks have been struck down by sickness.

Only two members of the extended 34-man playing squad escaped the potentially debilitating bug, which first swept through the team in Cardiff last week.

Coach Steve Hansen said, “It’s been a difficult week with a lot of people being sick. We’ve had guys go down with diarrhea and vomiting. There’s only two that have missed out. Just getting that mix right has been difficult. Hopefully we’ve been smart enough to keep the energy tank full. … Apparently half of the UK has got it. Hang around here long enough and we’ll give it to you,” he joked to media.

All Blacks No 8 Kieran Read said, “Personally I’m feeling a lot better today. I know the boys had a good guided tour of their bathrooms yesterday on their day off.”

The sickness shouldn’t be anything like the “Suzie the waitress” food poisoning that ripped through Laurie Mains’ All Blacks before the 1995 World Cup final.

 

219 – mainly kids — sick in six Salmonella outbreaks linked to small turtles

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Turtles traumatized me as a child; now they frighten me for food-safety-related reasons: they make little kids sick.

In the current outbreaks, 30 per cent of the confirmed sick are children 1 year of age or younger; that’s at least 66 infants barfing because their parents wanted them to hang out with small turtles.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is tracking six different outbreaks of human Salmonella infections linked to small turtles:

• a total of 219 persons infected with outbreak strains of Salmonella Sandiego, Salmonella Pomona, and Salmonella Poona have been reported from 34 states;

• 36 ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported;

• 66% of ill persons are children 10 years of age or younger, and 30% of ill persons are children 1 year of age or younger; and,

• 49% of ill persons are of Hispanic ethnicity.

Results of the epidemiologic and environmental investigations indicate exposure to turtles or their environments (e.g., water from a turtle habitat) is the cause of these outbreaks.

Small turtles are a well-known source of human Salmonella infections, especially among
young children. Because of this risk, the Food and Drug Administration has banned the sale and distribution of these turtles as pets since 1975.

Turtles with a shell length of less than 4 inches in size should not be purchased as pets or given as gifts.

NZ girl in hospital with E. coli after feeding lamb

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A 3-year-old Canterbury girl is recovering in Auckland’s Starship children’s hospital after contracting E. coli and developing hemolytic uremic syndrome after feeding a lamb.

The story says the verotoxigenic E. coli came from the raw milk she was feeding the lamb, but it also could have come from the lamb, which Canterbury medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey apparently agreed with.

“It is not clear in this case whether the child contracted VTEC E.coli as a result of drinking unpasteurised milk or by simply touching the lamb. Fortunately, in this case the little girl is recovering.”

He said the incident highlighted the need for caution around farm animals.

“Touching farm animals can be lethal. VTEC is one of several diseases carried by healthy animals,” he said.

Humphrey said Community and Public Health was investigating two more possible cases.

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

Erdozain G, Kukanich K, Chapman B, Powell D. 2012. Observation of public health risk behaviours, risk communication and hand hygiene at Kansas and Missouri petting zoos – 2010-2011. Zoonoses Public Health. 2012 Jul 30. doi: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2012.01531.x. [Epub ahead of print]

Abstract below:

Observation of public health risk behaviors, risk communication and hand hygiene at Kansas and Missouri petting zoos – 2010-2011Outbreaks of human illness have been linked to visiting settings with animal contact throughout developed countries. This paper details an observational study of hand hygiene tool availability and recommendations; frequency of risky behavior; and, handwashing attempts by visitors in Kansas (9) and Missouri (4), U.S., petting zoos. Handwashing signs and hand hygiene stations were available at the exit of animal-contact areas in 10/13 and 8/13 petting zoos respectively. Risky behaviors were observed being performed at all petting zoos by at least one visitor. Frequently observed behaviors were: children (10/13 petting zoos) and adults (9/13 petting zoos) touching hands to face within animal-contact areas; animals licking children’s and adults’ hands (7/13 and 4/13 petting zoos, respectively); and children and adults drinking within animal-contact areas (5/13 petting zoos each). Of 574 visitors observed for hand hygiene when exiting animal-contact areas, 37% (n=214) of individuals attempted some type of hand hygiene, with male adults, female adults, and children attempting at similar rates (32%, 40%, and 37% respectively). Visitors were 4.8x more likely to wash their hands when a staff member was present within or at the exit to the animal-contact area (136/231, 59%) than when no staff member was present (78/343, 23%; p<0.001, OR=4.863, 95% C.I.=3.380-6.998). Visitors at zoos with a fence as a partial barrier to human-animal contact were 2.3x more likely to wash their hands (188/460, 40.9%) than visitors allowed to enter the animals’ yard for contact (26/114, 22.8%; p<0.001, OR= 2.339, 95% CI= 1.454-3.763). Inconsistencies existed in tool availability, signage, and supervision of animal-contact. Risk communication was poor, with few petting zoos outlining risks associated with animal-contact, or providing recommendations for precautions to be taken to reduce these risks.

C is for Chinese; food takes out tennis players

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David Ferrer of Spain, ranked fifth in the world, retired from his first-round match Tuesday in Beijing at the China Open, stopping his match against Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan at 5-4 in the first set. The reason for Ferrer’s midmatch retirement, his first such forfeit since 2009, was listed as a stomach virus.

The New York Times reports Ferrer’s retirement came one day after 24th-ranked Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia retired in the third set of her first-round match against Polona Hercog of Slovenia, a qualifier, citing a G.I. illness.

Though only the second Chinese tournament of the year, the China Open is not the first to be troubled by such problems, perhaps not surprising given China’s heavily scrutinized record on food safety.

Two weeks earlier at a W.T.A. tournament in Guangzhou, there were three exits attributed to gastrointestinal illness. Top-seeded Marion Bartoli of France retired in the first set of her first-round match, then Olga Govortsova of Belarus retired after losing the first set of her second-round match against Alize Cornet of France. Later that day, it was Cornet who withdrew from her doubles match because of gastrointestinal issues. Alexandra Panova of Russia and Yung-Jan Chan of Taiwan also withdrew midway through matches in Guangzhou, citing the possibly stomach-exacerbated issues of “heat illness” and “dizziness.”

Though the aforementioned are confirmed examples of stomach issues forcing players out of competition, it is difficult to determine. Since there is little risk of long-term damage from playing through digestive discomfort compared to a joint or muscle injury, the incidence of players who decide to soldier on is likely a much higher percentage than for other afflictions.

8 sick; Orkney E. coli O157 investigation ends

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The joint investigation by NHS Orkney and Orkney Islands Council has ended today.

The investigation began on August 17 and identified eight cases in all, of whom six were confirmed as having the E. coli O157 infection. The remaining cases were suspected because of their symptoms. One confirmed case remains in hospital.

Dr Louise Wilson, Director of Public Health, NHS Orkney said, “We have found no direct link connecting all the cases. The investigation team have worked hard to try and identify where the infection came from and how people became infected. Although we could identify some general common similarities, we could not pinpoint a common source. This is not unusual in an investigation. We had cases located across Orkney and the national laboratory, using genetic fingerprinting techniques, found three strains of E. coli O157 among the six confirmed cases. So it is not surprising that we cannot say with certainty where the infections originated, or how the cases came to be infected.

Why I never eat eggs benedict: staph in hollandaise sauce sickened 7 in Portland

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Bill Stanley, an 83-year-old six-term county commissioner from North Carolina, had breakfast at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Northeast Portland last July.

As reported by Lynne Terry of The Oregonian, Stanley was in town for a nationwide meeting of county commissioners but become violently ill several hours after breakfast.

According to a state outbreak investigation, was one of seven people sickened after breakfast that morning at. All of them ate eggs benedict. An eighth person, who ordered eggs benedict but had the hollandaise sauce on the side and didn’t consume it, felt fine.

No one else got sick, pointing to the hollandaise sauce as the culprit.

Oregon heath officials couldn’t test it for pathogens, however. The hotel threw it away after breakfast service.

But lab tests confirmed that Stanley — and another person hospitalized in the outbreak — were sickened by a strain of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium commonly found on the skin and in the noses of healthy people. Certain strains produce toxins that can spark quick and acute gastrointestinal symptoms.

The same strain was found in a nasal swab of one of the food workers at Crowne Plaza.

Dr. Mathieu Tourdjman, lead Oregon epidemiologist investigating the outbreak, said the sauce became toxic because it was not kept hot enough.

Unlike many other pathogens, the toxins produced by Staph cannot be killed by cooking. The only way to prevent foodborne Staph infections is by thorough hand washing and proper cooking. Food safety advocates recommend keeping cooked food warm at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or more.

The temperature of the hollandaise sauce was not monitored by kitchen staff at Crowne Plaza, Tourdjman found.

The outbreak shocked the hotel, according to general manager Ziggy Lopuszynski, who said the hotel has taken the hollandaise sauce off the menu.

Stanley is suing for medical expenses of nearly $14,000 and $26,000 in noneconomic damages. The hotel has balked at the settlement.

Looking in the toilet works too: scientists create yoghurt that changes color of poop to diagnose disease

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 It’s the logical next step for Jamie Lee Curtis and her Activia yogurt that makes people poop.

Researchers have, according to Mail Online, worked out a way to tell if a person is ill by changing their poop to different colors.

Swill down a yoghurt-style drink which interacts with the food in your stomach and your excrement turns a variety of hues depending on how sick you are.

The scientists have so far only suggested it could detect the progress of e.coli – but they hope one day it could diagnose far more conditions.

Even colorectal cancer, worms or a stomach ulcer could one day be pinpointed by people peering into the toilet until no brown remains.

The process has been developed by British designers Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg and James King.

He and Ms Ginsberg have created a special blend of BioBricks, or standardized sequences of DNA, which interact with the E.coli and turn red, yellow, green, blue, brown or violet depending on how advanced the condition is.

PEI church dinner suspect as 160 sickened

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At least 160 people became ill following a weekend church supper in Malpeque, Prince Edward Island (that’s in Canada).

The Charlottetown Guardian reports the province’s Health Department must wait "several days” before receiving lab results to help pinpoint the exact cause.

Deputy chief public health officer Dr. Lamont Sweet says all indications are the cause of the wide spread illness was foodborne. However, the ongoing investigation has yet to determine if a virus or bacteria is responsible.

Sweet says the illnesses, mainly diarrhea but also some cases of abdominal pain and nausea, appear linked to the 500 meals that were sold Saturday at Princetown United Church, most as takeout dinners. Many were ill for only a few hours but others reported being sick for 24 hours or longer, he said.

If this outbreak of illness proves to be food-borne, this will mark only the third time in the past 22 years that community meals have resulted in food-borne illness on P.E.I.

Any remaining food purchased from the church on the weekend should be tossed out, he added.

The meal was roast beef, vegetables, rolls and desserts. A portion of the meal was prepared on site and some of the items, including desserts, were brought into the venue.

More raw milk, more kids sick; 3 ill in Oregon

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Oregon health officials say three children under the age of 15 have been hospitalized with E. coli linked to raw milk from a small farm in Clackamas County.

The state Public Health Division said Friday that Foundation Farm has voluntarily stopped distributing milk.

Officials say lab tests confirm that a fourth child also has E. coli but has not been hospitalized. Health officials say other customers of the dairy are reporting recent diarrhea and other symptoms typical of the bacteria.

Grocery stores cannot sell raw, unpasteurized cow’s milk in Oregon. Officials say Foundation Farm distributed to 48 households that were part of a "herd share" — an arrangement in which people own one or more animals from a herd.

A table of raw milk related outbreaks is available at: http://bites.ksu.edu/rawmilk.

9 sick in Missouri, 2 kids in hospital, but raw milk faithful rally to the cause

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Food to many is an evangelical calling.

Some find faith in monotheism, some in nature, some in the sports shrine (I prefer ice hockey, especially now that the playoffs have started and the cathedral once known as Maple-Leaf-Gardens-whatever-the-corporate-home-of-Toronto’s-disgrace-is-now is out of the theological debate), and some in the kitchen.

For some faiths, like creationism, biology don’t matter much.

So the headline in today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch, harking to centuries of food hucksterism, is not surprising: “Illnesses don’t dissuade raw milk fans.”

“Raw milk enthusiasts say an E. coli outbreak in Missouri won’t change their preference for unpasteurized dairy products.

“At least nine people in five counties in central and western Missouri have been sickened by E. coli since late March. Health officials have pointed to raw milk as a possible cause in at least four of the cases, including a 2-year-old from Columbia who remains hospitalized with severe complications.

“MooGrass Farms near Collinsville sells about 200 gallons of raw cow, goat and sheep milk each week, mostly to families from the St. Louis area, said the farm’s manager, Kevin Kosiek.

“His customers appreciate the taste of whole raw milk as well as the lack of heat processing that kills some of the nutrients.

"This is not a fad," Kosiek said. "People are going back to where people used to get their food, and that’s farmers doing natural, organic things."

“Kosiek and several other raw milk distributors said they doubt the E. coli outbreak will be ultimately linked to unpasteurized dairy products.”

Faith and biology don’t have to conflict. Facts are important, but never enough. It’s a religious thing.

A table of raw milk related outbreaks is available at: http://bites.ksu.edu/rawmilk.