‘Build a facility where people where people can wash their hands’; handwashing is never enough

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Ben Chapman

I’m passionate about food safety because real people – folks who are just like my family, my neighbors or the guys on my hockey team – get sick every day.

Amanda Collins is a real person. NBC Connecticut reports that Amanda and her daughter are two of at least 15 people are ill with pathogenic E. coli after visiting a Connecticut goat farm.

“I walked right in,” Collins said. “Me loving farms, I held the goats, pet the goats and brought my daughter into the stall.”

Collins said it was a wonderful experience, with a knowledgeable staff and plenty of children and their parents around petting the goats.

However, a few days after the visit, the symptoms started. At first, she thought she had a stomach bug, but when her daughter developed the same symptoms, she knew something was wrong.

“Friday is when it hit, when I ended up having inestinal pain, diarrhea, seeing bloody stool,” Collins said. “And just seeing her go through the same thing that I physically felt myself is agnozing.“

After trips to the doctor’s office and the emergency room, both she and her daughter tested positive for E.coli. She did not put all of the pieces together until she got a call from the CDC.

“That’s when it clicked and I was like I did visit a farm and I had a lot of interaction with the animals,” Collins said.

“I cried a lot,” Collins said. “I was very anxious. I was upset about it at first, but never angry at the farm though.”

Collins said both she and her daughter used hand sanitizer at the farm and wet wipes once they got to the car. She said this will not stop them from visiting farms in the future.

“The only thing I would have to said is please build a facility where people where people can wash their hands because I think that will stop a lot from spreading.” Collins said.

Reducing risk in animal contact settings is more than just handwashing. Soil, sawdust, rails and food are all vectors.

Click here for a table summarizing petting zoo and animal contact outbreaks over the past 25 years.

15 sick with E. coli linked to goats at Conn. farm

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Douglas Powell

The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) today issued the following update on the E.coli outbreak linked to the Oak Leaf Farm in Lebanon, CT:

As of 1:00 p.m. today, DPH is investigating 15 confirmed cases of E. coli O157 infection. The number of cases could increase in the near future as DPH is actively identifying individuals who were not initially reported.

So far, investigators have been able to link 14 of these cases to Oak Leaf Farm. The patients range in age from 1-44 years old, with a median age of six. In total, five patients have been hospitalized with three still in the hospital. Two of the hospitalized patients have been diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), as first reported last week.

Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dispatched a team to Connecticut to assist in the investigation of this outbreak. Today, officials from DPH, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, the Uncas Health District, and the CDC team are at the Oak Leaf Farm conducting an onsite investigation. The Farm remains voluntarily closed to the public, and the owners are cooperating with the investigation.

The outbreak was first identified on Thursday, March 24th when six of seven individuals sickened with E. coli were confirmed by DPH to have recently visited Oak Leaf Farm and come into contact with goats on the farm.

From the we’ve-never-made-anyone-sick-before files: Conn. E. coli on goat farm edition

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Douglas Powell

The goat farm in Lebanon that may be linked to an E. coli outbreak has been given two stipulations by the health department, the owner told NBC Connecticut.

Oak Leaf Dairy Farm is no longer allowed to have the public visit its goats and may not distribute unpasteurized products, Mark Reynolds, the farm’s owner, said.

Reynolds said the outbreak has already started affecting his wholesale business. He said he had never had E. coli linked to his farm before.

The Department of Health and other agencies began to investigate Oak Leaf Dairy Farm after seven people contracted E. coli.

Six of those people were children who visited the farm and petted the goats.

Connecticut Children’s Medical Center said two patients have been diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

Seven E. coli illnesses linked to Connecticut farm

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Ben Chapman

Visiting animal displays are risky. Some animals shed pathogens in crazy high concentrations. The pathogens move around with foot traffic, sawdust and soil; end up on hand rails, rafters, water bottles and snacks.

Addressing risks is not just about handwashing.

According to the Hartford Courant a cluster of seven cases of pathogenic E. coli are linked to visiting a farm in Connecticut.

Officials said Thursday that six of the seven patients had visited the Oak Leaf Dairy Farm, and as a precaution the farm is not allowing people to visit the animals.

The seven patients are between 2 and 25 years old, according to DPH.

“Earlier today, DPH was informed of several patients from southeastern Connecticut who have become ill with E. coli,” said DPH Commissioner Raul Pino in a statement. “We are closely monitoring the situation and working with our partners at the CDC and other relevant stakeholders. We will continue to work diligently to provide the public with the information it needs as we investigate.”

Additionally the DPH was notified of two cases of hemolytic ermic syndrome, which affects the kidneys and the bloods ability to clot, officials said. It can develop in patients who have contracted E. coli.

A call to the farm Oak Leaf Dairy Farm was not immediately returned.

A table of petting zoo related outbreaks can be found here.

60 sickened: After 22 years, Milk Makers Fest in Lynden called off for 2016

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Douglas Powell

The Bellingham Herald reports that about 1,325 Whatcom County first-grade students, plus the teachers and parents who accompanied them, from all school districts in Whatcom County went to the festival April 21-23 at the Northwest Washington Fair & Event Center in Lynden. The festival had been going on for 22 years by then.

It was organized by the Whatcom County Dairy Women.

A total of 60 people likely were sickened in the outbreak that was traced to the north end of the dairy barn where the event was held, according to a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in October.

The decision to not hold the event this year was made sometime after Christmas, according to Kim Vlas, an officer with the Whatcom County Dairy Women.

She declined to say whether the decision was made because of the E. coli cases, citing a pending lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges the organizations failed to protect children from being infected by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157: H7, the strain that sickened them, because they didn’t follow established public health rules and guidelines, including from the National Association of State Public Heath Veterinarians and the CDC. Such measures are meant to reduce illness in people who come into contact with farm animals.

Beaver fever: Petting zoos, untreated water primary sources of Giardia at home and abroad

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Douglas Powell

The purpose of this study is to determine how demographic and exposure factors related to giardiasis vary between travel and endemic cases.

Exposure and demographic data were gathered by public health inspectors from giardiasis cases reported from the Region of Waterloo from 2006 to 2012. Logistic regression models were fit to assess differences in exposure to risk factors for giardiasis between international travel-related cases and Canadian acquired cases while controlling for age and sex. Multinomial regression models were also fit to assess the differences in risk profiles between international and domestic travel-related cases and endemic cases.

Travel-related cases (both international and domestic) were more likely to go camping or kayaking, and consume untreated water compared to endemic cases. Domestic travel-related cases were more likely to visit a petting zoo or farm compared to endemic cases, and were more likely to swim in freshwater compared to endemic cases and international travel-related cases. International travellers were more likely to swim in an ocean compared to both domestic travel-related and endemic cases.

These findings demonstrate that travel-related and endemic cases have different risk exposure profiles which should be considered for appropriately targeting health promotion campaigns.

A comparison of exposure to risk factors for giardiasis in non-travellers, domestic travellers and international travellers in a Canadian community, 2006–2012

Epidemiology and Infection, Volume 144, Issue 5, April 2016, pages 980-999, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0950268815002186

L. Swirski, D. L. Pearl, A. S. Peregrine, and K. Pintar

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=10216090&utm_source=Issue_Alert&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=HYG

But it’s such a cute lamb: 46 sickened with crypto at UK petting farm

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Douglas Powell

A case-control study was conducted to investigate an outbreak of 46 cases of cryptosporidiosis in visitors to a petting farm in England.

Details of exposures on the farm were collected for 38 cases and 39 controls, recruited through snowball sampling. Multivariable logistic regression identified that cases were 5·5 times more likely than controls to have eaten without washing their hands [95% confidence interval (CI) 1·51–19·9, P = 0·01] and 10 times less likely to report being informed of risk of infection on arrival (odds ratio 0·10, 95% CI 0·01–0·71, P = 0·02).

An uncommon Cryptosporidium parvum gp60 subtype (IIaA19G1R1) was identified in a lamb fecal sample and all subtyped cases (n = 22). We conclude that lack of verbal advice and non-compliance with hand washing are significantly associated with a risk of cryptosporidiosis on open farms. These findings highlight the public health importance of effectively communicating risk to petting farm visitors in order to prevent future outbreaks of zoonotic infections.

Cryptosporidiosis outbreak in visitors of a UK industry-compliant petting farm caused by a rare Cryptosporidium parvum subtype: a case-control study

Epidemiology and Infection, Volume 144, Issue 5, April 2016, pages 1000-1009, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0950268815002319

Utsi, S. J. Smith, R. M. Chalmers, and S. Padfield

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=10216122&utm_source=Issue_Alert&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=HYG

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.

Best practices for planning events encouraging human-animal interactions

Zoonoses and Public Health 62:90-99, 2015

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.

60 sickened: Lawsuit filed in Wash. fair E. coli outbreak

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Douglas Powell

The Bellingham Herald reports that the families of six children sickened in the E. coli outbreak at the Milk Makers Fest last April are suing the organizer of the event, the organization behind the Lynden fairgrounds, and the Lynden School District.

A total of 60 people likely were ill, according to a report issued by the CDC in October.

The lawsuit is being filed in Whatcom County Superior Court against the Whatcom County Dairy Women, Northwest Washington Fair Association and the Lynden School District.

It argues that the organizations failed to protect children from being infected by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7, the strain that sickened them, because they didn’t follow established public health rules and guidelines, including from the National Association of State Public Heath Veterinarians and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Such measures are meant to reduce illness in people who come into contact with farm animals.

“Why don’t you do what the law says you should do and what public health has indicated works?” said attorney Bruce Clark, who represents the families, in an interview.

He said there was an enormous wealth of information that showed this outbreak could have been prevented. “It’s a darn shame it happened,” Clark said.

Attorneys for the organizations couldn’t be reached for comment on the lawsuit.

About 1,325 Whatcom County first-grade students, plus the teachers and parents who accompanied them, from all school districts in Whatcom County went to the Milk Makers Fest April 21-23 at the Northwest Washington Fair & Event Center in Lynden. The festival had been going on for 22 years by then.

The event was designed to introduce young students to farming. It also gave them a chance to pet farm animals, including small horses, sheep, rabbits, chickens and a calf. There was a hay maze and scavenger hunt as well.

People who helped set up and take down the event — on April 20 and 24 — also were among those who were sickened. Some of those who attended the event later spread it to others who hadn’t, including family members.

Of the total number of people who were ill, 25 were confirmed through tests and 35 were probable. Eleven were hospitalized. Six developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a life-threatening complication. No one died.

The organizations also didn’t make sure all children washed their hands with soap and water after leaving the dairy barn and before eating or drinking, nor were they told to keep their fingers out of their mouths until they washed their hands, according to the lawsuit.

The CDC report in October stated that animals, including cattle, had been exhibited in the barn during previous events and that before the dairy education event, tractors, scrapers and leaf blowers were used to move manure to a bunker at the north end of the barn.

The group that used the barn before that was identified as the Whatcom Youth Fair in the lawsuit, which states that the fairgrounds had given the group the option of cleaning the barn themselves or paying a fee to have it cleaned.

“You’re basically blowing bacteria through your facility,” Clark said of using leaf blowers.

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.

Best practices for planning events encouraging human-animal interactions

Zoonoses and Public Health 62:90-99, 2015

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

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

Good on ya: National Zoo temporarily closes kids’ farm due to E. coli

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Douglas Powell

The National Zoo says it’s had to temporarily close its Kids’ Farm exhibit—essentially a petting zoo—because of E. coli.

In a release issued on Monday afternoon, the Smithsonian facility explains that on Feb. 18, a “routine fecal screening process” for goats showed signs of the bacteria. Although the goats were then removed from public view, follow-up tests confirmed E. coli in four goats and one cow last Friday.

“Based on these results, the Kids’ Farm was immediately quarantined and staff started appropriate protective measures, including treating all the farm animals with antibiotics,” the zoo says. The exhibit will reopen after zoo vets get “three consecutive weeks of negative test results.”

“As most people know, E. coli is everywhere in our environment,” Brandie Smith, an associate director at the zoo, explains in the release. “Because it is so common, we routinely test our animals. It’s unfortunate that we have to close the Kids’ Farm temporarily, but we’re taking the right preventative measures for our guests, staff and the animals.”

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.

Best practices for planning events encouraging human-animal interactions

G. Erdozain , K. KuKanich , B. Chapman and D. Powell. 2015. Zoonoses and Public Health 62:90-99.

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

Colorado preschools upset over state’s new chicken ban

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Boulder County preschools and child care centers that keep chickens are protesting a new state rule that bans live chickens, ducks and other poultry.

At Niwot’s Shepherd Valley Waldorf, the eggmobile — a mobile coop that houses about 100 chickens — is now on a nearby property owned by parents and the chicken lessons are on hold.

“In preschool and kindergarten, they’re learning through experiences,” said Ruth Godberfforde, Shepherd Valley’s outreach and admissions director. “Taking care of chickens is a wonderful, purposeful activity. We want to keep that connection with nature and animals.”

An online petition to repeal the new rule has garnered more than 2,000 signatures. The campaign also is supported by Temple Grandin, a well known Colorado State University agriculture professor.

The state regulations, which went into effect Jan. 14, ban licensed child care centers from keeping live poultry on site or bringing them into classrooms. Live birds are still allowed in classrooms where children are older than 5.

The ban is designed to protect young children from salmonella, a bacteria that’s often carried by poultry and causes diarrhea, vomiting and fever, according to state health department officials.

Young children are considered especially at risk because their immune systems are still developing, making it more likely they’ll need to be hospitalized. Plus, young children often put their fingers and other objects in their mouths. increasing the likelihood that they’ll get sick.

Colorado routinely has one or more outbreaks each year of salmonella that are associated with live poultry, said Therese Pilonetti, unit manager for the state health department’s Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability.

In a typical outbreak associated with live poultry, young children make up half of all cases, she said.

Opponents to the ban say the state doesn’t have any evidence linking a salmonella outbreak in Colorado to chickens at a child care facility. Instead, they say, any risks are mitigated by good health practices like washing hands after being around the birds.

“We’ve had animals in different capacities over the last 20 years,” Shepherd Valley’s Godberfforde said. “We follow all the health and safety guidelines and have never had any issues.”

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