Tag Archives: Illness

18 sick from campylobacter linked to raw milk in Alaska

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The Anchorage Daily News reports that an outbreak of a serious gastrointestinal illness connected to consumption of raw milk from an Alaska dairy is ongoing, with seven confirmed cases and 11 more that are suspected, state health officials said in a bulletin published Thursday.

The outbreak connected to unpasteurized milk began in May and has continued into July, the report said.

The same rare strain of the Campylobacter pathogen was found in all seven cases confirmed in laboratory tests. And it also was confirmed in manure samples from the unnamed Mat-Su farm.

The lab report, combined with the fact everyone who got sick drank raw milk from the same dairy, "affirms the conclusion that this outbreak is due to consumption of Farm A raw dairy products," the state bulletin said.

But tests didn’t find the pathogen in milk from the farm’s bulk tanks.

That’s not surprising, said state epidemiologist Joe McLaughlin. Campylobacter jejuni "is notoriously difficult to culture from environmental specimens other than raw stool," Thursday’s epidemiology bulletin said.

77 sick from salmonella in ground turkey

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At least 77 illnesses of Salmonella Heidelberg in 26 states have been linked to consumption of ground turkey products.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert due to concerns about illnesses caused by Salmonella Heidelberg that may be associated with use and consumption of ground turkey.

This public health alert was initiated after continuous medical reports, ongoing investigations and testing conducted by various departments of health across the nation determined there is an association between consumption of ground turkey products and an estimated 77 illnesses reported in 26 states. The illnesses were linked through an epidemiologic investigation and PFGE analyses by state health departments and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

FSIS reminds consumers of the critical importance of following package cooking instructions for frozen or fresh ground turkey products and general food safety guidelines when handling and preparing any raw meat or poultry. In particular, while cooking instructions may give a specific number of minutes of cooking for each side of the patty in order to attain 165 °F internal temperature, consumers should be aware that actual time may vary depending on the cooking method (broiling, frying, or grilling) and the temperature of the product (chilled versus frozen) so it is important that the final temperature of 165 °F must be reached for safety. Please do not rely on the cooking time for each side of the patty, but use a food thermometer.

Ground turkey and ground turkey dishes should always be cooked to 165 °F internal temperature as measured with a food thermometer; leftovers also should be reheated to 165 °F. The color of cooked poultry is not always a sure sign of its safety. Only by using a food thermometer can one accurately determine that poultry has reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F throughout the product. Turkey can remain pink even after cooking to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F. The meat of smoked turkey is always pink.

Better than ‘piping hot.’ But watch out for the cross-contamination.
 

Cyclospora associated with Mexican basil outbreak in Quebec, 2005

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Milord et al write in the current issue of Epidemiology and Infection about an outbreak of Cyclospora cayetanensis amongst 250 patrons who ate at a Quebec restaurant in June 2005.

Cyclospora sp. was observed in the stools of 20 cases and 122 probable cases were identified.

Contaminated fresh basil originating from a Mexican farm, used to prepare an uncooked appetizer, was identified as the source.

 

Papaya grown in Mexico sickens 97 with salmonella

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Agromod Produce, Inc. of McAllen, Texas is recalling all papayas, because they have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella.

According to a company press release, the papayas were imported from Mexico and are possibly linked to 97 reported cases of Salmonella Agona, including 10 hospitalizations, in 23 states throughout the U.S.

Recent sampling by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found the outbreak strain in two papaya samples collected at Agromod Produce, Inc. location in McAllen, TX and at the U.S. border destined for Agromod Produce, Inc.

The shipments that tested positive with the outbreak strain were not distributed in the U.S. Distribution of the product has been suspended while FDA and the company continue their investigation as to the source of the problem.

Whole Papayas were distributed nationwide and to Canada through retail stores and wholesalers.?? Agromod is recalling all Blondie, Yaya, Mañanita, and Tastylicious Brand papayas sold prior to July 23, 2011. Each Blondie Brand papaya can be identified by a blue and orange sticker label with green and white lettering on the fruit that states Blondie 4395 Mexico.

The Yaya Brand Papayas can be identified by a yellow, red, orange, and green label with white, green and red lettering that reads Yaya Premium Papayas Yaya PLU-4395 Mexico. Each Mañanita Brand Papaya can be identified by a green, yellow and red sticker label that states Mexico Mañanita 4395. The Tastylicious Brand Papayas can be identified by a white and blue sticker with red and white lettering that states 4395 Tastylicious MEXICO.??

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a similar health hazard alert.
 

Raw milk from SC linked to campylobacter outbreak in NC; 3 confirmed, 5 probable sick

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with officials in North Carolina and South Carolina to investigate an outbreak of campylobacteriosis in three people who consumed raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy in York, S.C.

The three confirmed cases and another five probable cases are from three different households and each case reports that prior to becoming ill they consumed raw milk that was obtained from Tucker Adkins Dairy on June 14, 2011. The onset of illness in these cases occurred in mid June. One person was hospitalized.

Although retail sale of raw milk is legal in South Carolina, it is illegal to distribute raw milk in final package form for direct human consumption in interstate commerce. Retail sale of raw milk for human consumption is also illegal in North Carolina.

From 1998 to 2008, 85 outbreaks of human infections resulting from consumption of raw milk were reported to CDC. These outbreaks included a total of 1,614 reported illnesses, 187 hospitalizations and 2 deaths. Because not all cases of foodborne illness are recognized and reported, the actual number of illnesses associated with raw milk likely is greater.

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

Poop from Chinese duck farms linked to 100,000 diarrhea cases

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The Shanghai Daily reports a duck processor in central China has been dumping duck excrement and dead animals directly into a river, contaminating a drinking water source that later lead to more than 100,000 people getting diarrhea.

Duck farms scattered along the Xiaohuang River in Huangchuan County, Henan Province, were accused of discharging waste in the river, killing fish and polluting the water. The farms belong to Henan Huaying Agricultural Development Co Ltd.??

The local water utility stopped collecting water from the river four years ago as it was too polluted, Shanghai Morning Post reported yesterday.

??However, two reservoirs that were used as new sources of tap water dried up in a drought this year and the county government was forced to resume pumping water from the Xiaohuang in April. Two months later there was a severe outbreak of diarrhea, sickening more than 100,000 villagers.

Three rusted pipes were seen stuck into the muddy river, where bottles and disposable lunch boxes were floating, to collect tap water supplying 280,000 people.
 

Cook sprouts: Egyptian seeds most likely source of deadly E. coli

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A single shipment of fenugreek seeds from Egypt is the most likely source of a highly toxic E. coli epidemic in Germany which has killed 49 people and of a smaller outbreak in France, European investigators said on Tuesday.

The European Food Safety Authority urged the European Commission to make "all efforts" to prevent any further consumer exposure to suspect seeds and advised consumers not to eat sprouts or sprouted seeds unless they are thoroughly cooked.

Reuters reports more than 4,100 people in Europe and in North America have been infected in two outbreaks of E. coli infection — one centred in northern Germany and one focused around the French city of Bordeaux.

Almost all of those affected in the first outbreak — the deadliest on record — lived in Germany or had recently travelled there. The infection has killed 48 people in Germany and one person in Sweden so far.

"The analysis of information from the French and German outbreaks leads to the conclusion that an imported lot of fenugreek seeds which was used to grow sprouts imported from Egypt by a German importer is the most common likely link," the EFSA said in a statement.

A consignment of fenugreek seeds, from the batch believed to be the source of the EHEC infection in Germany and France, has been tracked to Sweden, according to the Swedish National Food Administration.

The seeds have been recalled but 25 kilos have already arrived in Sweden. The National Food Administration has contacted the company Econova in Norrköping, who in their turn have stopped the sales and recalled already delivered bags of seeds.

E. coli outbreak at splash park; Alabama health department investigating***

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Two children who visited the Opelika Sportsplex and Aquatics Center’s Splash Park between June 12 and June 20 have tested positive for E. coli infection, according to a Thursday release from the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Parents of children who visited the Splash Park during the same period have been cautioned to be alert for symptoms of illness such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps.

“Based on what we know now, four children who were in the Splash Park between June 12 and June 18 have been hospitalized at East Alabama Medical Center with gastrointestinal illness,” said Dr. Mary McIntyre, medical officer of the ADPH’s Bureau of Communicable Disease. The Splash Pool appears to be the common area of exposure at this time, according to that same ADPH release.

Of the two samples to test positive for E. coli, only one was from a child admitted to the East Alabama Medical Center, said John Atkinson, EAMC public relations manager.

“The other sample is from a child that was seen at a local doctor’s office, and who did not require hospitalization. To our knowledge, two children have been seen by local doctors with similar symptoms, making it a total of six (four at EAMC and two in the community),” Atkinson said. “We do not expect that number to increase.”

In one of the worst media quotes ever, Sam Bailey, director of the Opelika Parks & Recreation Department, said, “I would be shocked to think at some point tomorrow (Friday) we won’t be open, unless something we don’t know about occurs, and we’re not expecting that.”

With microorganisms, expect the unexpected.
 

Sprouts sicken many, even if it’s ‘impossible to happen’

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This is the only advice I’ve given my daughters: keep your stick on the ice, don’t take wooden nickels, and when someone says, “trust me,” immediately distrust that person.

When a sprout grower involved in an outbreak that sickened 140 people says, “it’s next to impossible for anything to happen," giggle knowingly and walk away.

Tiny Greens’ Organic Farm in Urbana, Illinois, the source of a Jimmy John’s related sprout outbreak that sickened at least 140, talks a lot on its web page about being sustainable, natural, organic and using a crap-load of crap in their sprout production.

“The farm is certified by the Global Organic Alliance, which helps with finding a supply of organic seeds, which can be surprisingly hard to acquire. We grow the seeds in compost that we create ourselves, made of a mixture of year old woodchips and leftover sprouts. We have never had to find an outside source for compost. As long as you keep the sprouts healthy, there is no need for using chemicals. Healthy growing materials also mean an end product that is higher in vitamins, minerals and enzymes.”

Why a national sandwich chain like Jimmy John’s would buy an identified high-risk product – raw sprouts – from such an outfit is beyond me; it’s their business to lose.

Yesterday, the owner of Tiny Greens’ went on the PR offensive, telling The News-Gazatte he has taken several corrective actions to address food safety concerns raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Why didn’t he do that previously, what with all the raw sprout outbreaks over the past two decades?

"After the changes we made, it’s next to impossible for anything to happen," said Bill Bagby Jr., owner of Tiny Greens in Urbana.

According to the FDA, a sample of compost runoff from outside the Urbana farm turned up a salmonella strain "indistinguishable" from the one responsible for the outbreak.

After agency inspectors noted that Tiny Greens employees, who were wearing boots, pushed carts through compost water runoff outside the facility and did not sanitize boots or carts before returning through a greenhouse door to the production area, Bagby said now the outside carts and boots never come inside the production facility, and inside boots and carts never go outside the facility. The greenhouse door also is now for exiting the building only.

Bagby consulted with an epidemiologist to help him throughout the process, and a new food safety manager is now on staff.

Raw milk source of campylobacter that sickens 16 in Wisconsin school

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I would be a pissed off parent.

I’ve seen a lot of dumbass things involving food and my kids over the years, especially through schools, and I’ve always spoken up, but this is beyond stupid.

Who serves raw milk to kids in grade 4?

Laboratory test results show that the Campylobactor jejuni bacteria that caused diarrheal illness among 16 individuals who drank unpasteurized (raw) milk at a school event early this month in Raymond was the same bacteria strain found in unpasteurized milk produced at a local farm, according to officials from the Department of Health Services (DHS) and Western Racine County Health Department (WRCHD). A parent had supplied unpasteurized milk from the farm for the school event.

The farm did not sell the unpasteurized milk and there was no legal violation associated with the milk being brought to the school event. The farm is licensed and in good standing with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

And in an additional dumbass statement, Cheryl Mazmanian, director and health officer for the Western Racine County Health Department actually said, ‘As in similar cases, prevention comes down to washing hands and practicing good hygiene.’

How about don’t serve raw milk to little kids?

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