Dewshine in Tennessee: Second teen dies after drinking racing fuel mixed with Mountain Dew

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Douglas Powell

A second Greenbrier teen has died and two more received medical treatment after officials said they drank a mixture of Mountain Dew and racing fuel last week.

On Thursday, authorities were called to the Franklin Farms home of 16-year-old Logan Stephenson, who was found dead in his bed.

Within minutes, they were called to a second home, on Cemetery Road, because the boy’s best friend had begun having seizures, Greenbrier Police Chief K.D. Smith said.

“We ask that everyone continue to pray for both of these families as they go through this tragic time,” Sheriff Bill Holt said in the department’s Tuesday release.

Since Stephenson’s death, two other teens have come forward, claiming they drank a similar substance, Smith said.

Four cases from Robertson County have been recorded with the Tennessee Poison Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, according to medical director Dr. Donna Seger.

Two of the teenagers were treated and released from two different emergency departments, Seger said.

Both teens said they had consumed a mixture of Mountain Dew and racing fuel, she said.

“They thought they knew what it was, that it was a substitute for alcohol,” Seger said. “They thought they would get the same effects as alcohol, but they weren’t aware of how toxic it was.”

Racing fuel, used in drag racing, is made up of almost 100% methanol, a non-drinkable form of alcohol used for industrial and automotive purposes, Seger said.

3 sick: Crypto outbreak in Tenn.

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Some Scott County parents are on edge after two local children have been hospitalized with a gastrointestinal illness caused by a common microscopic parasite.

Cryptosporidiosis is being blamed for at least three illnesses in Scott County children this week, creating a sense of alarm on social media as news of their sickness has spread.

The first local child to be admitted to the hospital was a young girl from Oneida. Initially fearing an appendicitis attack, her mother, Tracy Shoopman, drove her to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville on Tuesday. There, doctors admitted her for testing, and on Wednesday confirmed a diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis.

The same day, another child from Scott County — a student at Huntsville Elementary School — was also diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis by doctors after being hospitalized at Children’s Hospital. Her mother, Mindy Wagaman, told the Independent Herald that her daughter was hospitalized late Tuesday night after she started vomiting blood.

Both children remained hospitalized Thursday.

Also on Wednesday, a third child, also a student at Huntsville Elementary, was diagnosed with the illness by Children’s Hospital doctors. However, she was treated in the hospital’s emergency room and released.

A fourth child, a student at Huntsville, was being tested for the illness.

At first glance, there was no apparent connection between the four cases of the illness — which health officials say is most commonly caught from contaminated water sources. According to the CDC, the illness can be caught by swimming in contaminated bodies of water, which can include streams or lakes but can also include treated water sources, such as pools or splash pads. Because the parasite is resistant to common water treatment methods, it can survive in pools after being unknowingly introduced to the water by someone who is sick.

Knoxville’s WBIR reported last week that East Tennessee health officials are seeing a major spike in crypto cases this year. The story quoted Darci Hodge, Children’s Hospital’s director of quality and infection control, as saying the hospital has confirmed 29 cases of crypto this year — far higher than the next highest single-year number of five cases.

Crypto cases spike in Tenn.

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Douglas Powell

East Tennessee health officials are seeing a major spike in reported cryptosporidium cases, a water-dwelling parasite that most commonly contaminates public water sources.

“It is a parasite that lives in the bowels of people who are infected with it,” said Darci Hodge, director of quality and infection control at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. “It can live in animals and it can be passed on by people or animals in living water for a short period of time, and that’s often how you and I will get it.”

Hodge said Children’s Hospital confirmed 29 reported cases of cryptosporidium this year, the biggest number of cases it’s seen in years.

Within the past five years, the second highest number of reported cases of the disease at Children’s Hospital was only five.

“It was significant enough because the Health Department and we, here, really talked a lot about it because it was odd to see so many cases,” Hodge said.

The Knox County Health Department has 34 reported cases on record this year.

“It only takes one person with this illness to have a little spill in the pool, you might say,” said Connie Cronley, an epidemiology nurse at the Health Department. “It could infect lots of folks.”

Cronley said the parasite comes with many symptoms, but not all of them may appear serious enough to contact a doctor.

2 sick from crypto linked to raw milk in Tenn

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The Tennessee Department of Health is investigating multiple cases of residents who fell ill from consuming raw milk.

The health department launched the investigation after confirming two Chattanooga-area cases of cryptosporidiosis, a gastrointestinal disease from a parasite that lurks in contaminated water or unpasteurized milk. Both cases are linked to a dairy cow share program, which the state legalized in 2009, allowing greater access to raw milk.

“Consuming raw milk in the belief it’s healthier than pasteurized milk is a perilous risk that shakes off the possibility of a range of serious and occasionally fatal illnesses for the individuals and anyone they share it with,” John Dreyzehne, TDH commissioner, said in a news release. “Our best choice for healthy, nutritious milk is the pasteurized kind. Even if one believes there are health benefits, an upside, is it worth gambling on the downside risk of a serious illness, especially in a child?”

Since the state legalized cow share programs, reports have increased of disease and outbreaks linked to raw milk consumption. In 2013, nine Tennessee children became extremely sick with E. coli after drinking raw milk. Five of those required hospitalization and three developed severe, life-threatening kidney problems.

Tennessee offers new app that shows restaurant inspection scores

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The Tennessee departments of Health and Agriculture have partnered to develop a mobile app that allows users to check any Tennessee restaurant inspection score no matter where they are located.

The free app, available for both iOS and Android, lets users view health inspection scores from Tennessee restaurants and retail stores that prepare food, including grocery stores and convenience markets. The first screen of the app displays a map showing restaurants near the user and the most recent score for each location. It also includes scores for hotels, hospitals, schools and food trucks’ central kitchens. Users will have access to the last three inspection scores for each business and if any violations were cited, the app provides information about what was not in compliance with the Tennessee Retail Food Safety Act.

Updated daily, the feature that makes the app different from Web-based inspection scores is the ability for users to personalize it to see what is most important to them. Locations can be saved to a Favorites list for quick access to scores, and search results can be filtered to show only locations that have scores within a certain range. The Restaurant Inspection Scores app was developed by NIC, Inc., Tennessee’s eGovernment Partner since 2000. To obtain the app, go to http://tn.gov/main/article/mobile-apps.

Parents in Tennessee want to know how six-year-old meat could be served at school

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Dozens of parents and students packed into the Hawkins County Board of Education, expecting answers about how their children could be served six-year-old meat in the cafeteria.

They were stunned to learn the school’s current system doesn’t keep track of dates such as when food shipments arrived or when it was time to throw unused food away.

School board members came to realize there’s been almost no such plan up to this point.

“People got it, it was normal and it was a just no. it was not normal once you tasted it obviously,” said Olivia Ewing, Cherokee High School senior.

On Thursday, 10News reported that some schools in the system had served six-year-old pork last week. The meat had been frozen up until preparation.

Board of Education Chairman Chris Christian is working to find out when the meat arrived at the schools.

I’m baaack: Opryland hotel guests report illnesses

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Despite declaring on Jan. 26, 2015, there was no longer a threat of norovirus at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, The Tennessean reports new cases of illness have been reported.

The hotel is working with the Metro Public Health Department and following all recommended cleaning and sanitizing steps to prevent the spread of illness, said spokeswoman Jenny Barker in an email to The Tennessean. Barker did not say how many guests were affected.

“A number of guests have notified us that they were feeling unwell upon arrival to the hotel or during their stay with us,” Barker said. “The health and safety of our guests is of paramount importance to Gaylord Opryland.”

Barker says the hotel is implementing additional sanitizing measures above the recommendations since viruses are common during this time of year. Health care services are being provided to sick guests and the hotel has staff paramedics as well as an on-site health clinic, she said.

FDA investigating after nails found inside candy in Tennessee

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The FDA has launched an investigation to determine who is tampering with candy at a Perry County convenience store.

Last November, three people reported finding nails inside Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups at Fat Man’s in Perry County.

Now, investigators said they have found a nail inside a Baby Ruth candy bar.

Perry County Chief Deputy Nick Weems purchased a Reese’s cup while Channel 4’s cameras were rolling. He too found a nail inside the candy.

Someone came forward last October after they bit into a Baby Ruth bar purchased at the same store and found a small nail inside.

“I do think it’s legit,” Weems said.

The FDA has ruled out all employees at the convenience store. Owner Gary Patel allowed deputies to come in and open all of the store’s candy. All employees have also passed multiple polygraph tests.

No one has been injured by the nails. Everyone has managed to spit out the nail before accidentally swallowing it. All four victims were adults.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact police.

WSMV Channel 4

Video shows apparent maggot in Tennessee school lunch

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Maggots reportedly found in school lunches at Overton High School have students concerned about their safety when it comes to their daily meals. Students say if there was one, there could be many.

In the Instagram video, you can see a student’s mystery meal waiting to be eaten when an apparent maggot pops out and squirms around on the plate.

Shelby County Schools sent WMC Action News 5 the following statement regarding the incident Monday:

“A student reported that they found what appeared to be an insect on their meal. School and district staff have since conducted a thorough inspection of the cafeteria and kitchen to ensure that no other meals were contaminated. They found that no additional food items were compromised.”

However, on Monday another Overton High School student reported to our newsroom there were more maggots found in a school lunch.
WFSB 3 Connecticut

7 prisoners in Tenn. sick with Salmonella from Tyson chicken; compare response with Foster Farms

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Douglas Powell

A link between mechanically separated chicken products from Tyson Foods and an illness cluster in a Tennessee correctional facility was established between seven case-patients at the facility, with two resulting in hospitalization.

Illness onset dates range from Nov. 29, 2013 to Dec. 5, 2013. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service continues to work with the Tennessee Department of Helath on this investigation and will provide updated information as it becomes available.

Tyson Foods, Inc. a Sedalia, Mo., establishment, is recalling approximately 33,840 pounds of mechanically separated chicken products that may be contaminated with a Salmonella Heidelberg strain.

The mechanically separated chicken products were produced on Oct. 11, 2013. The following products are subject to recall:

40-lb. cases, containing four, 10-lb. chubs of “Tyson Mechanically Separated Chicken.”

The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “P-13556” inside the USDA mark of inspection with case code 2843SDL1412 – 18. These products were shipped for institutional use only, nationwide. The product is not available for consumer purchase in retail stores.

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