Tag Archives: Ohio

Non-O157 E. coli outbreak at Ohio State University linked to University of Michigan outbreak?

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In the interest of free and open discussion, Ohio State University types are being particularly tight-lipped about a possible E. coli outbreak, and possible links to an outbreak in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Aren’t there a bunch of E. coli experts at both places?

I get that in the absence of information, it’s not a good idea to speculate. But these folks, based on their public writings, seem to know more than they are letting on.

And that puts others at risk.

Columbus Public Health is actively investigating an outbreak of food-related illness, caused by E. coli. Five cases of E.coli non – O157 have been reported to Public Health, two of which have been confirmed as a match to cases in a Michigan outbreak.

“We are currently working with all identified cases to collect the information we need,” says Dr. Mysheika LeMaile-Williams, Medical Director for the City of Columbus, “and we are actively doing everything we can to identify the source of infection.”

Those students got sick in mid-April.
 

Employee appreciation luncheon: thank you and here is your norovirus

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The Mansfield News Journal of Ohio reports that 68 people who attended a March 5 employee appreciation luncheon at Emerson Precision fell ill with norovirus, but health officials were unable to pin down exactly where the bug was picked up.

More than half of the 102 Emerson workers present at the luncheon had vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, a low-grade fever. Some workers from a restaurant that provided the event’s sandwiches, salads and cookies reported illnesses, too.

The luncheon was on a Friday. The owner of the restaurant called health officials early Monday.

Matthew Work, environmental health chief for the Mansfield-Ontario-Richland County Health Department, said,

"We had a call from (the owner) himself. He informed us that some people had gotten sick and asked for our help in investigating it. He did a great job of telling us right away."

NCAA swimming and diving delaying because of barf

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Basketball is interminably dull.

The first college game I ever went to on Jan. 30, 2008, Kansas State beat the University of Kansas – who went on to win the national crown – for the first time in 24 years.

All games should be like that. They’re not.

But I’ll watch tonight as K-State goes up against Xavier in a sweet-16 showdown, the first time K-State has been to that particular dance since 1988.

What would be a great storyline is if West Virginia met K-State for the final. Bob Huggins was rescued from career oblivion when they hired him as coach a few years ago. Huggins repaid K-State’s generosity by leaving after one year.

Locals are still upset.

But he left behind assistant coach Frank Martin, who’s turned K-State into a national competitor. The prodigy going up against the mentor. It would be like me and Chapman going on an all-nerd food safety Reach for the Top (trivia note: Chapman was actually on Reach for the Top or whatever the Ontario version was called when he was in high school).

In other NCAA news, the start of the Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships has been delayed 24 hours to Friday after 18 student-athletes and a coach were treated for a possible gastrointestinal illness since arriving in Columbus, Ohio.

K-State’s Bramlage Coliseum would make an excellent hockey arena.
 

Nuevo Folleto Informativo: A causa de Listeria, un programa de alimentos para personas mayores es cancelado en Ohio

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Traducido por Gonzalo Erdozain

Resumen del folleto informativo mas reciente:

– El problema pudo haber sido causado por contaminación cruzada o falta de higiene

– Listeria monocytogenes puede 
ser mortal en personas mayores

– En el 2008, 43 personas se enfermaron y 22 fallecieron durante un brote de Listeria causado por fiambres en Canadá. La edad promedia fué de 77 años.
Los folletos informativos son creados semanalmente y puestos en restaurantes, tiendas y granjas, y son usados para entrenar y educar através del mundo.

Si usted quiere proponer un tema o mandar fotos para los folletos, contacte a Ben Chapman a benjamin_chapman@ncsu.edu.
Puede seguir las historias de los folletos informativos y barfblog en twitter
@benjaminchapman and @barfblog.
 

Harold and Kumar avoid Ohio prison with unique sandwich

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A running gag in the movie, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, is avoiding a certain kind of sandwich served up by prison guards.

Life imitates art.

A former Ohio deputy accused of feeding an inmate a bologna sandwich that been rubbed against another inmate’s genitals has pleaded guilty to two health code violations. In a Columbus courtroom on Wednesday, 38-year-old Joseph Cantwell also apologized for the shame and embarrassment that he said he had caused.

A judge fined him $500 plus court costs, and Cantwell also received a 90-day suspended jail sentence and five years’ probation.
 

Five kids sick with E. coli in Ohio county

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The Cuyahoga County Board of Health confirms that three children have been exposed to the E. coli bacteria. Two more cases are under investigation.

"Five cases is very unusual for us to have," says Terry Allan, the health commissioner in Cuyahoga County.

The three children with confirmed cases also have what’s known as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).

Allan says the children must have contracted E. coli in one of two ways: either from a batch of meat that is contaminated or from just undercooked beef. Testing will be conducted on meat in the area, but so far, there is no indication that any particular batch of beef in Ohio is contaminated.

Or from thousands of other ways that E. coli O157:H7 can get into food or water or petting zoos.

Allan also says,

"If you don’t have a thermometer, it’s important that you cook that hamburger until it’s no longer pink in the middle."

This is wrong. Color is a lousy indicator. Use a meat thermometer, be careful about cross-contamination, and have more microbial awareness than the health commissioner in Cuyahoga County.
 

Home-canned green beans sicken Ohio man, grandson

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A Crestline, Ohio, man and his grandson remain hospitalized in Mansfield and Akron with foodborne botulism.

The Mansfield News Journal reports that the two remain in hospital after eating home-canned green beans last weekend. Two other grandchildren were treated for botulism and have been released from Children’s Hospital.

 

Mexican restaurant in Ohio closes after 23 sickened with norovirus

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Health officials closed the Acapulco Mexican Restaurante in Xenia, Ohio, for several hours Friday after 23 people reported becoming sick.

Mark McDonnell, with the Greene County Health Department, said,

"We strongly suspect it’s the Norwalk virus simply because of the time frame. People reported getting sick within 24 hours, and it only lasts 24 to 48 hours. … We had a couple of employees ill last week, and they might have come back on a little too early and were still shedding the virus."

Health officials ordered workers to sanitize the restaurant before it reopened at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon. Inspectors said the restaurant meets all its requirements and is now safe for customers.