Tag Archives: Vancouver

Norovirus in B.C oysters making people sick; government won’t say how many

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There are three separate clusters of norovirus associated with raw oysters making people barf in the Vancouver area (that’s in Canada) but, as usual, no details were provided by health types on actual numbers of people sick.

CBC News reports the B.C. Centre for Disease Control has confirmed that an outbreak of illness related to eating uncooked Pacific Coast oysters is being caused by a norovirus.

The affected oysters have been traced to a section of Effingham Inlet on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The oysters were harvested between Sept. 7 and Sept. 21.

Maybe water shouldn’t be bought from a place named, ‘Hunky Bill’s;’ PNE employee hospitalized after drinking spiked bottle of water

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A Pacific National Exhibition employee – that’s like the state fair they have in Vancouver, which is in Canada — was hospitalized Thursday night after buying and drinking a bottle of water at the fair tainted with what is thought to be ammonium chloride.

The Vancouver Sun reports that just after 11 p.m. Thursday, the PNE employee experienced dizziness and muscle weakness and was taken to hospital 30 minutes after drinking a bottle of water from Hunky Bill’s concession inside the fair, Vancouver Police spokeswoman Jana McGuinness said in a press release.

Upon later inspection, it was apparent that the bottle of Dasani water contained small holes where a syringe had apparently been inserted and the substance injected in what PNE spokeswoman Laura Ballance called a single isolated incident.

The Vancouver Police Department is investigating the incident and, according to Vancouver Coastal Health spokeswoman Anna Marie D’Angelo, there have been no other reports of similar illnesses to Vancouver Coastal Health at this time.

Underground eggs sicken 500 with Salmonella in B.C.

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These are duck eggs (right), fresh from the farm, as some like to say.

A colleague who is a veterinarian in the Kansas State vet college has a few ducks on her villa just outside Manhattan (Kansas) and gathers the eggs. The good doctor is very conscientious about Salmonella, Campylobacter and other goodies, washes the exteriors thoroughly, and refrigerates properly. They have a unique taste on their own, but are excellent in omelets or for use in baking.

Trading such wares in a local economy has gone on for centuries, but food safety concerns must be paramount, regardless of the size or locale of any outfit providing food; folks in Vancouver, Canada, are finding this out through a lot of barfing.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported yesterday on a persistent outbreak of Salmonella with more than 500 reported illnesses that dates back to 2008. The cause: tainted and poor-quality eggs being peddled in some sort of underground black market, primarily to restaurants looking to save a buck.

Dr. Eleni Galanis, an epidemiologist with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, said,

"Eggs are the most likely source of this outbreak.”

Although those who got sick ate eggs from many sources, an investigation found that many Lower Mainland restaurants have been using ungraded and broiler hatching eggs.

"Eggs used at these places were of poor quality, cracked and dirty," said Galanis.

Washington parents ask: what can be learned from our child’s E. coli death?

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I’m going to the doctor’s for my annual check-up on Tuesday. I know I don’t exercise enough anymore, so I have high blood pressure; I’m old; I’m tired; having babies at 47 doesn’t keep one young, it keeps one old and tired. I’ve got other issues, like some form of motion sickness that makes me barf, but we won’t get into that. And I’m not sure there’s much the doctor can tell me. My problems are trivial.

The Oregonian reports that Bonnie Wilson took her sick 4-year-old, Ronan (right) , to the pediatrician on Monday, March 29. She says she told the doctor that another child in Ronan’s day care had been hospitalized with the potentially deadly bacteria E. coli O157:H7. But Ronan’s symptoms didn’t fit that diagnosis.
The doctor suspected the sandy-haired, hazel-eyed boy had the flu and sent Wilson home with instructions to keep a close eye on him.

Guess Bonnie was supposed to use those magic goggles that let her see bacteria.

Ronan improved briefly, but that Thursday he was back at Evergreen Pediatric Clinic in Vancouver, dehydrated, constipated and so weak he needed help sitting up. The clinic sent him to Southwest Washington Medical Center for tests, and just as he arrived, his symptoms took a horrifying turn — one that, in the end, changed the lives of everyone who knew Ronan Allen "Ro-Ro" Wilson.

On Saturday, a week after their boy’s funeral, Bonnie and Anthony Wilson told their story. They want others to know the loving, curious, ambitious child they lost and to learn from their experience. They don’t want another family to ever endure what they did.

The story goes on to say that a thousand questions remain, including: How did the E. coli outbreak start? Should doctors and public-health officials have done anything differently when children became ill? Will they do anything differently in the future? …

The Wilsons hope that sharing their story will raise awareness about E. coli. They hope doctors and public-health officials will always act swiftly to inform the public about outbreaks. And they wonder whether Ronan might be alive if he’d been diagnosed sooner.
 

So sad: child dies in Washington E. coli outbreak

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That E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to a Vancouver, Washington day care has taken the life of a child.

It’s a little overwhelming as 16-month-old Sorenne nuzzles next to me while trying to go back to sleep. Usually me typing on the computer or talking on the phone bores her into sleepdom.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of this child,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County Health Officer. “Our hearts go out to the child’s family during this very difficult time.”

Officials said the seven people who work or attend the center displayed signs of E. coli bacteria but haven’t become seriously ill. So far, investigators haven’t been able to identify the source of the bacteria.

In a statement, the day care providers said Friday they’re grieving and are "still overwhelmed by this tragic loss."

Serving food and crack may not mix

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More than 90 restaurants in Metro Vancouver were told to close their doors after they were found with rodent infestations, unsanitary conditions, or a failure to store food properly, according to an investigation of restaurant inspection histories for the past three years by CTV News.

And many more were repeatedly cited — but not closed — for other violations, the most common of which were leaving food out that should be refrigerated, failure to wash surfaces, and not providing hand washing stations to employees.

"We’re looking for any signs that might lead us to believe there might be an outbreak of food poisoning," said Nick Losito, Vancouver Coastal Health’s director of health protection.

One of those restaurants that was shut down was a Vancouver legend — The Only Seafood Restaurant on Hastings Street.

Once a bustling destination for seafood since it opened the 1920s, The Only is now filled with rat feces and dead insects.

The health department closed The Only last year — not just because inspectors said the food was a public health hazard, but because inspectors discovered it was a crack den as well.

CTV will be running a week-long series on food safety. Last night’s video is available here.

Union concerns, music concerns as Vancouver Olympics open

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Sarah Mclachlan was soulfully sensuous when she burst on the Canadian music scene in 1991.

Now she’s just boring.

As noted in the South Park movie, Canada has already apologized many times for Bryan Adams.

Just awful.

Maybe Bryan and Sarah had babies and that’s where Nickelback came from.

But, with the Olympic games opening in Vancouver tonight, expect to hear lots of Bryan and Sarah and crap, at least according to the adverts on NBC.

No Sloan, Tragically Hip, Neil Young or even a reformed Guess Who – all decent Canadian contributions to the soundtracks of our lives.

Nope, you’ll hear the tired and true, just like from the Service Employees International Union who sent out a press release yesterday playing the food safety card.

The Service Employees International Union, the nation’s largest healthcare union, is raising questions about the safety of food being provided to athletes at the Vancouver Winter Olympics by Sodexo, a global food service contractor based in France who served contaminated meat at a camp in Virginia sickening more than two dozen boy scouts.

The union is calling on Sodexo to provide greater transparency about the origin of the food they will be serving athletes, including: disclosing the primary supplier of the food that they will serve to athletes and whether those companies have had problems with contaminated food; whether the food will come from a "cook and chill" facility or will be cooked and served on-site; and to make the steps they are taking to ensure food safety easily available to the public.

Sure, Sodexo should be able to answer any questions about the origins of its food and safety measures taken, just like the union should clearly state its concerns which seem based on employment rather than microbial food safety.

Mother of Canadian E. coli toddler questions E. coli response at BC petting zoo

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The number of E. coli cases believed to be linked to the PNE has climbed from 13 last week to 18, and the mother of one sick child is questioning health officials’ response.

Coquitlam, B.C., mother Caroline Neitzel says her 14-month-old daughter, Jacklyn (right), was infected with E. coli after a visit to the annual Vancouver fair on Sept. 5.

Neitzel said her daughter touched a number of different animals at the petting farm. She said she did her best to wipe her daughter’s hands with wet wipes during that visit.

Despite her efforts, Jacklyn became very ill. At first doctors thought the toddler had the flu. Jacklyn was sent home twice before being admitted to Royal Columbian Hospital, according to her family.

"By that time, her eyes were rolling into the back of her head. She was just so lethargic," Neitzel told CTV News on Friday.

The toddler spent four days in hospital. Neitzel said she thinks her daughter would have been diagnosed earlier if health officials had issued a public warning when a cluster of E. coli cases was discovered.

Anna Marie D’Angelo, a spokeswoman for Vancouver Coastal Health, said the public was not alerted because there was no risk at the time.

"We became aware of the situation three days after the PNE had closed. So there was no risk to any future people getting this E. coli," she said.

Health officials say an alert would not have changed how a patient was treated at the hospital.

The PNE says E. coli has never been a problem in the past at the petting farm and that the fair has stringent hygiene measures in place, including signs and staff directing visitors to hand-washing stations.
 

The face of E. coli: twins who visited the UK petting zoo edition; Vancouver fair remains delusional

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Two-year-old twins Aaron and Todd Furnell went to visit the farm and in this picture, from the Mirror, lie motionless on their stomachs in adjacent hospital cots.

Todd underwent a second blood transfusion yesterday – the day a 13th child was hospitalised – after the brothers had suffered acute kidney failure.

Ms Mock said: "They’re much the same, but now they are eating a little bit, rather than having it done for them through a feeding tube. When Aaron isn’t asleep, he seems a bit more alert, but Todd is struggling a little."

Tracy Mock is among a group of parents calling on health officials to explain why they were able to visit Godstone Farm, Godstone, near Redhill, Surrey, after the first case of E.coli was brought to manager’s attention there on August 27.

Ms Mock, from Kent, and her sons visited the farm four days later.

Four young children remained seriously ill in hospital last night following the outbreak on the popular petting farm.

Twenty four adults fell ill after visiting. Yesterday the Health Protection Agency (HPA), which faced calls for a public inquiry into its handling of the outbreak, confirmed there were a total of 37 cases of E.coli infection linked to the farm, including another child who had been recently diagnosed.

Another toddler, Alfie Weaver, was being monitored by doctors at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill, where he also had blood transfusions.

The little boy was left screaming in agony when his kidneys shut down following the outbreak. He was cared for in an isolation ward but is now understood to have begun talking.

His grandfather, from Redhill, who did not want to be named, said the three-year-old has since shown signs of improvement.

"It was like a dream come true, he has been in agony for nine days," he said.

The child and his six-year-old sister were taken to Godstone Farm on the August bank holiday – several days after the first case of E.coli was reported.

His mother, Gemma Weaver, said: "We deserve answers from the farm and the Health Protection Agency about this horrific bug. This farm should have been shut down earlier in August if kids tested positive for the bug then."

In Vancouver, where another dozen kids got sick from the petting zoo, the local paper can’t decide whether it was the food or the petting zoo.

Mark Neale writes in the Belfast Telegraph this morning that those who have investigated E. coli O157  "know the risk it poses on open or petting farms. A quick scan of the literature suggests one outbreak a year can be associated with open or petting farms. E.coli, particularly the virulent 0157 variant, has always been associated with farms and farm animals. Hand-washing, alcohol gels and all manners of materials used to remove the bacteria ultimately will prove useless."
 

More kids sick at petting zoo, this time in Vancouver; health type says no need to announce outbreak

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Tragically following the mother country, the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver (that’s Canada) is reporting that 11 children and two adults came down with E. coli days after visiting the petting zoo at the PNE this summer.

The story triumphantly declares that it was the first time the PNE has been linked to cases of E. coli since the agricultural fair opened in 1910.

One child remained in hospital Tuesday in fair condition and two children have been sent home. The ages of the victims ranged from 21 months to 69 years.

Vancouver’s PNE and its petting zoo with sheep, goats, horses and a donkey were open from Aug. 22 to Sept. 7.

Dr. John Carsley, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, said officials did not announce the outbreak of E. coli.

“An announcement would have been pointless. No one was at risk to be infected after the PNE closed and, if someone was exposed to the germ but has not yet fallen ill, there is nothing that could be done to prevent an outbreak of the illness. If you have nothing to offer people, what are you going to tell them?”

The majority of people who went into the barn and were exposed to the germs were at no risk, he also said. “So you are basically scaring an enormous amount of people and telling them, you might have been exposed to a potentially fatal illness about which you can do nothing.”

Tell them to be careful when going to petting zoos. Inform them of the risk. Try not to be a tool.