Tag Archives: Wisconsin

Norovirus rampant in Wisconsin

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Norovirus is making the rounds in Madison, Wisconsin, with five food-related outbreaks since last November.

Dane County health officials are still waiting for test results from the most recent outbreak. It took place Jan. 29 when at least 16 people had vomiting and diarrhea after eating sandwiches and other food at the Mandrake Road Church of Christ in Madison.

Also last month, 28 people got sick after eating at Erin’s Snug Irish Pub in Madison. The other outbreaks took place at a drama-filming session at Madison West High School, the Pyle Center at U W Madison, and a Madison art show.

Health department epidemiologist Amanda Kita-Yarbro says the five outbreaks in a three-month period are a first for her agency. She said it could have been spurred either by food workers or people attending the various events.

35 sick after buffet at UW-Madison

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Thirty-five people reported symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea after sharing a buffet line at the Pyle Center at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

A spokeswoman for UW Extension, which runs the conference center, told the Wisconsin State Journal they fell ill a day after eating lunch Thursday in the Pyle Center’s Alumni Lounge. She says the same food was served to four other groups at the center, as well as to employees and visitors in the nearby Lowell Center, and no one from those locations reported symptoms.

E. coli testing to be done at Wisconsin school

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As many as 140 students will need to be tested for E. coli after a recent case matched a previous cluster of infections that occurred in August and early September, according to the Green County Health Department.

Three students at Abe Lincoln Elementary School, in the Monroe School District, have the E. coli infection.

In response, the Green County Health Department and the Wisconsin Division of Public Health have recommended stool testing for all pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students who attend Abe Lincoln Elementary School. Stool collection kits have been prepared for distribution.

2 more E. coli cases confirmed in Wisconsin school

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Health types are investigating two recently confirmed cases of E. coli O157 in children who attend Abe Lincoln Elementary School in Monroe, Wisconsin.

At this time, it is unknown whether these new cases are related to the previous cluster of E. coli cases that occurred in August and early September in Green County.

The Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene is performing testing to determine the genetic strain of these recent cases.

The Monroe School District has informed students and parents in the district of the recent cases and provided information on signs and symptoms of E. coli O157 infection and strategies to reduce the spread of E. coli.

Green County Health Department and Wisconsin Division of Public Health are interviewing parents and guardians to try to identify possible sources of these E. coli infections. Area health care providers have been alerted to the new cases of E. coli in Green County.

Wisconsin student treated for E. coli

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A student who attends Glacial Drumlin School, the middle school in the Monona Grove School District, was diagnosed and treated for E. coli, a Public Health Madison and Dane County spokesman said Friday.

Spokesman Jeff Golden said it appeared to be an "isolated case."

The student’s sibling also exhibited symptoms, but the infection had not been confirmed, Golden said.

Principal Renee Tennant said the cases were not school-related, but parents were notified as a precaution.

1 child dead, 8 sick in Wisconsin E. coli O157 outbreak

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Always tragic.

Wisconsin and Green County officials are trying to track down the source of an E. coli outbreak that has claimed the life of a 20-month-old girl and has sickened eight others.

RoAnn Warden, director of the Green County Health Department, said, "The Wisconsin Division of Public Health and our department here in Green County are investigating a cluster of nine confirmed E. coli 0157:H7 infections."

All of those sickened are from Green County, although Warden said they have been geographically spread out, with some in the outlying portions of the county. Some households have had multiple cases.

Sources have told The Cap Times that a 20-month-old girl from Green County died Sunday at UW Children’s Hospital in Madison after being admitted about a week earlier.

Warden said the outbreak started in mid-August, and the last case occurred in early September, about a week ago.

"We have not identified a common course of exposure," she said.

Raw milk source of campylobacter that sickens 16 in Wisconsin school

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I would be a pissed off parent.

I’ve seen a lot of dumbass things involving food and my kids over the years, especially through schools, and I’ve always spoken up, but this is beyond stupid.

Who serves raw milk to kids in grade 4?

Laboratory test results show that the Campylobactor jejuni bacteria that caused diarrheal illness among 16 individuals who drank unpasteurized (raw) milk at a school event early this month in Raymond was the same bacteria strain found in unpasteurized milk produced at a local farm, according to officials from the Department of Health Services (DHS) and Western Racine County Health Department (WRCHD). A parent had supplied unpasteurized milk from the farm for the school event.

The farm did not sell the unpasteurized milk and there was no legal violation associated with the milk being brought to the school event. The farm is licensed and in good standing with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

And in an additional dumbass statement, Cheryl Mazmanian, director and health officer for the Western Racine County Health Department actually said, ‘As in similar cases, prevention comes down to washing hands and practicing good hygiene.’

How about don’t serve raw milk to little kids?

An updated table of raw-milk related outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/rawmilk
 

Who serves raw milk to kids in grade 4; at least 16 sick

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At least 16 people have been sickened by an outbreak of foodborne illness which started at North Cape Elementary School in Wisconsin.

"We are in the process of doing an investigation," said Cheryl Mazmanian, director and health officer for the Western Racine County Health Department.

The incident apparently began about June 3 when a number of foods were served at a celebration for fourth-graders. Symptoms – diarrhea and similar gastrointestinal problems – were first reported about June 6, she said.

"Raw milk was served. We have not pinpointed it as that."

The 16 people infected includes family members who contracted the germs brought home from the school.

Mazmanian the public health type, actually said, As in similar cases, prevention comes down to washing hands and practicing good hygiene.

How about don’t serve raw milk to little kids?
 

Food safety leader Dean Cliver passes away

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Dr. Dean Otis Cliver, born March 2, 1935, died Monday, May 16, 2011, at his home in Davis, California.

A graduate of Purdue University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Dean completed his Ph.D. at Ohio State University in the spring of 1959. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in the Food Research Institute from 1962 to 1995 and was a professor at UC Davis from 1995 to 2008, continuing as a professor emeritus until his recent illness.

Dean was a respected and widely published member of the worldwide scientific community, with his work taking him to countries in Europe, Asia, North and South America. In his work with foodborne diseases Dean was often called for information by members of the media, as he was known for his ability to make science understandable to non-scientists. He was a long-time IFT scientific communicator and regularly worked with the media providing information on food safety practices (particularly recognized for research on cutting boards), food irradiation, and BSE (mad cow disease).

He was known for his research on virology and from 1969 was a consultant to the World Health Organization on virus transmission in foods. He and his wife Carolyn opened their home to many foreign students who later became part of their extended family.

I didn’t know Dean that well, but he would e-mail me frequently about the food safety issues of the day. He contributed to barfblog.com in 2008, and came up with the most apt bio I’ve had the pleasure of publishing:

“Dr. Cliver officially retired October 1, 2007 and is winding down from 46 years in academia, battling infectious agents in food and water. His research career has led him to see the world as if peering outward through the anal orifice: this ‘reverse proctoscopy’ confers a unique viewpoint.”

He will be missed.

Inspections reveal the slime at Oshkosh restaurants

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There’s a slime epidemic in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It builds up on nozzles of soda guns. It’s on the cups that hold soda guns. It’s on ice machines and ice bins. And chances are it’s been found in your favorite tavern or restaurant.

The Oshkosh Northwestern reports that inspectors for the Oshkosh Health Department found the gooey slime that when soda, juice and other beverages builds up over time in more than 10 percent of their 424 inspections of restaurants, taverns, convenience stores and kitchens between January 2009 and April 2010.

In total, there were 44 incidents of gunk build-up during that time, making it the most cited critical violation discovered by Oshkosh Health Department Sanitarians Sandy Knutson and Ann Boyce in their annual restaurant inspections.

"For the most part, the bacteria in that slime is non-pathenogenic," Knutson said. "It probably won’t make you sick, but it will gross you out. But it’s not as big a health hazard as drains that are not open-sited."

"Sewage on the other hand …," Boyce started.
"… Has a high chance of making you ill," Knutson finished.

In 43 instances, ice bin and ice machine drains were not designed to prevent sewage from backing up into the equipment.