Salmonella cases in Minn linked to contaminated raw tuna, part of national outbreak

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Still don’t like raw seafood – too many microbiological risks.

According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, two Minnesota residents sickened recently with salmonellosis are linked to frozen raw tuna, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) said today.

The ill Minnesotans are adults in their 30s from the metro area who became ill on June 21 and June 30. Neither was hospitalized. These cases, which are part of a larger national outbreak (See CDC: Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella), were linked to spicy tuna rolls purchased at a grocery store and a workplace cafeteria. The outbreak strain of Salmonella bacteria was found in sealed bags of frozen raw tuna from the lot used to make the spicy tuna rolls eaten by one of the cases.

The tuna was distributed by Osamu Corporation (Gardena, CA). Retail stores should not sell and consumers should not eat tuna from this lot.

Grocery stores and other retail outlets should check their raw tuna supply for bags or boxes labeled with Lot 68568 from Indonesia (check with your supplier or shipping receipts/invoices if individual bags are not labeled). Tuna from this lot may be contaminated and should be discarded and not sold or served.

Consumers concerned that they may have purchased sushi made with this tuna should contact the place where it was purchased. The investigation in Minnesota and nationally is ongoing.

30 norovirus cases linked to Minnesota Chuck E. Cheese

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Ben Chapman

There’s a Chuck E. Cheese that I drive by with Sam a couple of times a week. Every time we go by he wants to go back: we took him there on his third birthday (on a weekday afternoon) and he went nuts for Skee-Ball and the arcade games.

Running food safety and infection control at a kids arcade-style restaurant is probably nerve-wracking. According to KAAL ABC Chanel 6, a norovirus outbreak is being investigated at a Minnesota Chuck E. Cheese outlet.

The Washington County Public Health Department is investigating a norovirus outbreak at a Woodbury Chuck E. Cheese restaurant that sickened at least 30 last weekend.

The restaurant was scheduled to be closed until 1 p.m. Wednesday while staff cleaned, said Fred Anderson, an epidemiologist for Washington County Public Health. The restaurant was open until 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Washington County is still trying to determine how the norovirus got started. Several patrons reported getting sick Saturday. Public Health has interviewed about 60 people and half have reported getting sick.

Washington County Public Health reviewed the reservations made for Friday, Saturday and Sunday and determined about 1,000 people were in the restaurant during that time, Anderson said.

A decent recipe for an outbreak is a bunch of kids, with questionable hygiene, in a place with a lot of stuff to touch, and eat, at the height of norovirus season.

Minnesota has a bunch of norovirus

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Ben Chapman

Last week something respiratory knocked me out of action for a few days. Between Nyquil, Tylenol and the bug I was writing emails and texts from a world of delirium. But nothing quite compares to the feeling of norovirus: stomach cramps, projectile vomiting and pooping liquid.

According to KARE 11, that’s what a bunch of folks in Minnesota (and elsewhere are experiencing right now).

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced Monday that approximately 40 outbreaks of norovirus illness have been reported since the beginning of November. Those outbreaks have occurred in a variety of settings, including restaurants, schools, nursing homes and private gatherings.

When people think of “stomach flu,” they often don’t appreciate that they could have gotten their illness from food or that they could pass the virus to others through food. Prevention of norovirus infections is simple in principle, officials say. Just practice good personal hygiene and observe appropriate food-handling procedures.

“People need to remember to wash their hands, thoroughly” said Dr. Kirk Smith, who heads the Foodborne Diseases Unit at MDH. “Wash your hands after using the toilet, before consuming food, and before preparing food for yourself or others. If everybody did that, we could prevent a majority of the illness caused by these viruses.”

2 dead, 2 sick: Minnesota links caramel apples, 2 listeria deaths

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Minnesota health officials say two people died and two others became ill this fall after eating prepackaged caramel apples contaminated with the bacterium listeria.

The Minnesota Departments of Health and Agriculture are warning consumers to wait for more information before eating any pre-packaged, commercially-produced caramel apples, including those topped with nuts, chocolate and sprinkles.

The department’s press release says federal health officials are investigating the listeriosis outbreak. It wasn’t immediately clear what other states were affected.

The four people who became ill in Minnesota in late October and November were between 59 and 90 years old. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with listeria. It usually affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune systems.

Children suffer the most: Salmonellosis from reptiles in Minnesota, 1996-2011

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Douglas Powell

I’ve told this tale before but it’s worth retelling in light of new stats from Minnesota.

Turtles in the 1960s and 1970s were inexpensive, popular, and low maintenance pets, with an array of groovy pre-molded plastic housing designs to choose from. Invariably they would escape, only to be found days later behind the couch along with the skeleton of the class bunny my younger sister brought home from kindergarten one weekend.

Maybe I got sick from my turtle.

Maybe I picked up my turtle, rolled around on the carpet with it, pet it a bit, and then stuck my finger in my mouth. Maybe in my emotionally vacant adolescence I kissed my turtle. Who can remember?

Reptile-associated salmonellosis (RAS) occurs when Salmonella is transmitted from a reptile to a human. This study describes the epidemiology of RAS in Minnesota during 1996-2011.

All Minnesotans with confirmed Salmonella infections are reported to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Case patients are interviewed about illness characteristics and risk factors, including foods eaten, drinking and recreational water exposures, contact with ill people, and animal contact. Willing RAS case patients can submit stool from the reptile for culture. Serotype and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) subtype of Salmonella isolates from reptiles and case patients are compared.

Of 8389 sporadic (not associated with an outbreak) non-typhoidal salmonellosis case patients in Minnesotans during 1996-2011, 290 (3.5%) reported reptile exposure. The median age of case patients with reptile exposure was 11 years, 31% were under the age of 5 years and 67% were under the age of 20 years; 50% were female. The median illness duration was 8 days; 23% required hospitalization. The most commonly reported reptile exposures were lizard (47%), snake (20%), turtle (19%) and a combination of reptile types (14%).

Eighty-four per cent of isolates from case patients who reported reptile exposure were Salmonella enterica subspecies I. The three most common serotypes were Typhimurium (15%), Enteritidis (7%) and subspecies IV serotypes (7%). Of 60 reptiles testing positive for Salmonella, 36 (60%) yielded the same Salmonella serotype as the human isolate. Twenty-six of 27 reptile isolates that were subtyped by PFGE were indistinguishable from the human isolate. Of these, 88% were subspecies I; the most common serotypes were Enteritidis (12%), Typhimurium (8%), and Bareilly (8%). RAS accounts for approximately 3.5% of salmonellosis cases in Minnesota, primarily affecting children.

The majority of isolates from case patients and reptiles belonged to Salmonella subspecies I, suggesting that reptiles are a source of human infection with serotypes not traditionally considered to be reptile-associated.

Zoonoses Public Health. [ahead of print]

Whitten T1, Bender JB, Smith K, Leano F, Scheftel J.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24909385

60 sickened: lawsuit filed in E. coli outbreak on Minnesota reservation

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Douglas Powell

A lawsuit has been filed over an E. coli outbreak on a Chippewa reservation in northeastern Minnesota.

Bob Danielson, a member of the Fond du Lac Lake Superior Chippewa reservation near Cloquet, is suing Jim-N-Jo’s Northland Katering. It provided the food at three events in July at which people got sick.

The owner of the catering company declined comment.

It’s not that simple and handwashing is never enough; trying to stay healthy around state fair animals? Simple–wash your hands

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Douglas Powell

For many visitors to the Minnesota State Fair, wandering through the animal barns, listening to the indignant squeals of jostling pigs or watching a 1,500 pound cow unfurl its long tongue to snag an out-of-reach kernel of grain, is one of the fair’s great pleasures.

But even though the animals are bathed and brushed to perfection, they can carry germs that can make people sick.

The risk was made apparent earlier this month, when an E-coli outbreak that sickened 13 people was traced to a traveling petting zoo that appeared at several Minnesota county fairs and festivals. Seven people were hospitalized and two patients developed serious kidney complications.

Probably the potato salad? 60 sick from E. coli O157 at Minnesota events

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Douglas Powell

All signs point to the potato salad — or more likely one of the raw ingredients that goes into it — as being the cause of the E.coli outbreak that sickened some 60 people on the Fond du Lac Reservation in July.

According to word from Doug Schultz, spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Health, on Wednesday, the investigation has revealed that the illness came from three separate events, the Elders’ Picnic, a private wedding and a three-day conference. All were held on the reservation between the dates of July 11-16, and all were catered by the same entity.

“After interviewing a good percentage of the people involved,” said Schultz, “there are clear indications that the potato salad was the likely vehicle for the illness,” which he added came from the O157 strain of E.coli — one of the most common forms.

The investigation unveiled, however, that potato salad was only served at two of the three events, which leads investigators to suspect one of the raw products that goes into the salad, such as celery or onions.

“We haven’t yet been able to definitely prove just what that was,” said Schultz. “At first, we thought it was the celery, but we were unable to find any pathogens on the celery we tested.”

13 sick with E. coli O157 linked to traveling petting zoo in Minnesota

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Today is a state holiday in Queensland (that’s in Australia) as 60,000 or so will flock to the Ekka, the equivalent of a state fair.

We’re not going.

I got enough pictures the first two years, and wisely didn’t go last year when at least 50 were sickened with E. coli O157 linked to the animal displays.

Not a word about that outbreak from health types, fair types, or anyone, except locals who say, beware the Ekka winds, and wash hands.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH, that’s in the U.S.) has a much better history of identifying and following up on outbreaks, and reports today it has identified at least 13 people who have developed E. coli O157:H7 infections as part of an outbreak associated with Zerebko Zoo Tran traveling petting zoo. All of these cases have infections with E. coli O157:H7 bacteria that have the same DNA fingerprint. Two of these are secondary cases resulting from being exposed to one of the primary cases associated with the petting zoo.

The 13 cases range in age from 2 to 68 years, 10 (77 percent) are female, and they are residents of multiple counties. Seven (54 percent) cases have been hospitalized, including three children. Two of the cases developed a serious complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which affects kidney function. Currently, one case is hospitalized with HUS.

The petting zoo exhibited at the events listed below between July 4 and July 27, and there have been cases associated with each one:

Nashwauk 4th of July Festival (7/3-7/5): 1 case

Polk County Fair (7/9-7/13): 1 case

Rice County Fair (7/15-7/20): 7 cases (including the 2 secondary cases)

Olmsted County Fair (7/21-7/27): 3 cases

MDH is currently following up with one case regarding their potential animal exposures prior to their illness. Additional cases associated with attending the Olmsted County Fair could still be identified, as that was the most recent event where Zerebko Zoo Tran exhibited.

Environmental and animal fecal samples collected from Zerebko Zoo Tran yielded the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7. The owner has been cooperating in the investigation and voluntarily withheld his animals from the last two county fairs at which he was scheduled to exhibit in August.

E. coli O157:H7 is commonly found in ruminant animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep. Outbreaks associated with these animals are documented virtually every year in Minnesota. Therefore, people who contact ruminants at any venue, public or private, are at risk for infection with E. coli O157:H7 as well as a variety of other germs. People typically become ill by getting bacteria on their hands after touching the animals or contaminated surfaces, and then swallowing the germs while eating, drinking or during other hand-to-mouth activities. Contamination can be present on the fur or in the saliva of animals, in the soil where these animals are kept, or on surfaces such as fence railings of animal pens.

“These illnesses are a stark reminder that E. coli O157:H7 can be present in even the cleanest of animal operations,” said MDH State Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Joni Scheftel. Risk associated with animal contact can be reduced through the following measures:

Visitors to animal exhibits should be made aware that even healthy, well-tended animals can have germs that can make people seriously ill.

Food, drinks, and items that promote hand-to-mouth contact (for example, pacifiers) should not be brought into animal areas.

Hands should be washed with soap and water immediately after visiting the animals. Hand sanitizers are not a substitute for soap and running water but may afford some protection until soap and water are available. They do not work well against some germs and when hands are visibly soiled.

Children under 5 years, seniors, pregnant women, and people with a chronic health condition or a weak immune system are prone to serious complications from E. coli infections and should take extra care around animals.

Best practices for planning events encouraging human-animal interactions

Zoonoses and Public Health

G. Erdozain , K. KuKanich , B. Chapman and D. Powell

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zph.12117/abstract?deniedAccess

Educational events encouraging human–animal interaction include the risk of zoonotic disease transmission. It is estimated that 14% of all disease in the US caused by Campylobacter spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157, non-O157 STECs, Listeria monocytogenes, nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica and Yersinia enterocolitica were attributable to animal contact. This article reviews best practices for organizing events where human–animal interactions are encouraged, with the objective of lowering the risk of zoonotic disease transmission.

A table of petting zoo outbreaks is available at https://barfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Petting-Zoo-Outbreaks-Table-4-8-14.xlsx.

8 sick? E. coli O157:H7 confirmed at Minnesota fair

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Douglas Powell

A Nerstrand woman whose husband became ill believes that he was dealing with E. coli after attending the fair.

Bernadette Johnson said her husband, Greg, was stricken with a severe illness for six days. After talking with others, she was made aware of four of their friends who were struggling with a similar illness.

“At the time we didn’t think anything of it,” she said. “But then we talked to other people, and a lot of people had the same symptoms.”

The symptoms included cramps, spending a lot of time in the bathroom and overall not feeling well, symptoms similar to those of E. coli. However, none of them went to the hospital, as they figured it was a bug.

Johnson said Greg was in and out of the barns Thursday through Sunday during the fair and also went through the petting zoo.

The Minnesota Department of Health has diagnosed eight total E. coli cases, although only six of the eight attended the Rice County Fair. The Department of Health did not release the names of the other fairs involved; however, they have made them aware of the E. coli cases.

As the Department of Health continues to investigate the cases, they have confirmed that the E. coli strain found is E. coli O157:H7, the most severe. Of the eight cases that have been reported between July 9 and July 24, five have required hospitalization.