Tag Archives: Zoo

Norovirus suspected of sickening 90 at Oregon Zoo private event

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Lynne Terry of The Oregonian reports that a private meeting of medical professionals at the Oregon Zoo last week ended with dozens of people falling ill. 

About 90 of the 220 people at a Wednesday morning meeting of Women’s Healthcare Associates developed severe gastro-intestinal symptoms, said Dr. Katrina Hedberg, state epidemiologist at Oregon Public Health. 

No one was hospitalized, but those who were sickened became severely ill. 
Investigators suspect they were infected with norovirus, which is highly contagious and spreads among people every winter. 

Oregon Public Health scientists are investigating the zoo outbreak, trying to determine the source of the contamination. Hedberg said that most likely a food handler infected with norovirus contaminated the food, which in turn sickened those who ate it. 
The virus is spread through human contact or through food, water or the environment. 

Zoo staff catered the event, held in one of the private spaces below the Cascade Grill that the zoo rents out to private parties. 

You can hold my koala but not wash your hands

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Sunday in Brisbane (that’s in Australia) was a perfect chance to discover the local wildlife: kangaroos and koalas at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Emma and Sorenne were overly excited by the opportunity. When it was their turn to get their photo taken with the koala, however, I noticed the sign on the hand sanitizer station saying, “Out of Order. Sorry for any inconvenience.” As we exited the area into the food court, Emma grabbed some sanitizing wipes that were available (but unmarked and almost not noticeable) on a table and cleaned up Sorenne’s hands the best she could.

After our afternoon “tea” (that’s Australian for “snack”), we headed into the Kangaroo Rescue area. For $2 I bought a rather large bag of kangaroo feed, and we proceeded to shove our hands into the faces of every kangaroo who passed by. Emma was brave and lay down on the ground to pose with one of the big boys. For me the highlight was either seeing a pregnant mommy ‘roo whose joey was wiggling about in her pouch or watching Sorenne’s face light up when the baby kangaroos ate from her hands (right exactly as shown).

Upon exiting the area (which was filled with scrub turkeys, ducks, wombats, emus and feces in addition to the kangaroos), there was a handwashing station with ample running cold water and soap but no paper towel to dry hands. The park prides itself on reusing water, and there was clear signage indicating that all water in use was recycled except for handwashing, food preparation, and drinking water. I didn’t feel confident that they were able to separate distribution so well after realizing that handwashing wasn’t possible in the koala cuddling zone.

Handwashing really isn’t simple, especially when the proper tools are not available.
 

You can hold my koala but not wash your hands

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Sunday in Brisbane (that’s in Australia) was a perfect chance to discover the local wildlife: kangaroos and koalas at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Emma and Sorenne were overly excited by the opportunity. When it was their turn to get their photo taken with the koala, however, I noticed the sign on the hand sanitizer station saying, “Out of Order. Sorry for any inconvenience.” As we exited the area into the food court, Emma grabbed some sanitizing wipes that were available (but unmarked and almost not noticeable) on a table and cleaned up Sorenne’s hands the best she could.

After our afternoon “tea” (that’s Australian for “snack”), we headed into the Kangaroo Rescue area. For $2 I bought a rather large bag of kangaroo feed, and we proceeded to shove our hands into the faces of every kangaroo who passed by. Emma was brave and lay down on the ground to pose with one of the big boys. For me the highlight was either seeing a pregnant mommy ‘roo whose joey was wiggling about in her pouch or watching Sorenne’s face light up when the baby kangaroos ate from her hands (right exactly as shown).

Upon exiting the area (which was filled with scrub turkeys, ducks, wombats, emus and feces in addition to the kangaroos), there was a handwashing station with ample running cold water and soap but no paper towel to dry hands. The park prides itself on reusing water, and there was clear signage indicating that all water in use was recycled except for handwashing, food preparation, and drinking water. I didn’t feel confident that they were able to separate distribution so well after realizing that handwashing wasn’t possible in the koala cuddling zone.

Handwashing really isn’t simple, especially when the proper tools are not available.
 

Zoo animals for dinner – Why not?

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In a form of logic that only the Brits could come up with, The Independent argues that if a recent listeria-related recall of turkey breast and ham by a Texas firm is casting doubt on Thanksgiving plans, then why not go for exotic meats, like the deer and turkeys in my backyard in downtown Manhattan (Kansas).

Not quite sure how the editors at The Independent got to zoo animals in the headline.

Chef Dave Arnold, director of culinary technology at the International Culinary Center’s French Culinary Institute, blogs in a Nov. 8 blog entry written for Popular Science magazine’s Web site, that those who prefer tougher meat should enjoy wild game even more than standard meat and poultry, which he says are generally butchered young to ensure tenderness, and lack the flavor of their full-grown counterparts.

Arnold’s tastes are nothing new – during the Middle Ages, bear meat consumption was symbolic, and bear paws are still considered a delicacy in Cantonese cuisine. Beaver meat has been eaten by indigenous North American populations for generations.

Upscale Chicago eatery Moto served a road kill raccoon dish back in 2008, and this past June an Arizona restaurant owner caused a public uproar when he put lion burgers on his menu.

Exotic meats are generally avoided due to concerns over bacterial contamination and animal cruelty. However, in light of recent fears of listeriosis sparked by common meats found in neighborhood supermarkets, people may be more willing to step out of their comfort zones this Thanksgiving.

But no one got sick in the listeria positive recall cited in the story because at least someone was looking (in this case, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service). And the public was warned. Recalls are not the same as outbreaks.

Dave Arnold’s Low-Temperature Game Cooking Notes

In all cases sear the meat first and put into Zip-loc bags with butter. Cook in an immersion circulator for the prescribed times, then sear again for a minute or two per side on high heat.

Yak: cook at 56°C for 24 hours. Rich and gamey, with notes of duck.

Lion: 57°C for 24 hours. Tastes like pork but richer.

Black bear: 57°C for 3 hours. Tastes a little bloody and metallic. Younger bears are reportedly better.

Beaver tail: 60°C for 48 hours. Woodsy, delicious.

Duck, and birds that cook like duck (teal, widgeon): 57-58°C for 45 minutes to an hour for the breast. Braise the legs.

Squab: 56°C for 45 minutes for the breast. Braise the leg.

Raccoon: I recommend cooking raccoon in a traditional braise.

Pet the tortoise eat the candy

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It was Spooktacular this weekend at Manhattan’s Sunset Zoo, which is about a 2-minute drive from our house (because it’s in Kansas).

We splurged on the Wicked Witch of the West costume for Sorenne (right, exactly as shown) and used our year-long family pass for a discounted candy grab.

The purple pail quickly filled with treats and many of the kids were digging in as they entered a small pavilion where a volunteer was encouraging children – many of whom were eating candy – to pet a couple of tortoises.
There were no handwashing facilities or sanitizer dispensers at this particular pavilion.

I said petting a tortoise while actively or about to eat candy was a bad idea.
 

Where does zoo poo go?

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Steve Bircher, curator of mammals at the Saint Louis Zoo, told KSDK,

"It’s probably thousands of pounds that we collect and it’s recycled so we can use it as fertilizer and compost.”

Corrine Kozlowski, an endocrine lab technician, said,

"So we can determine whether an animal is pregnant or not from it’s poop. If it’s having regular reproductive cycles, so it allows us to time breeding appropriately for that animal. We can also look at whether an animal might be stressed based on hormones in the poop.”

Everything comes down to poo.

Food donated for animals served in UK zoo cafeteria

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In scandal-starved U.K., the Daily Mail reports a safari park has been forced to admit serving up food meant for its animals in the public canteen.

Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire has said that potatoes and onions generously donated for the animals were fed to paying customers.

However safari park bosses stressed today that they had not put customers’ health at risk.

The incident only came to light when a member of the public (or kitchen staff – dp) complained to Central Bedfordshire County Council about kitchen practices.

Park chiefs were then forced to admit that in September last year they had used food in the public canteen that had been donated as animal feed.

However, they insisted this was a ‘one-off’ and not common practice at the park which houses animals including lions, tigers, elephants, rhino and giraffes.

The potatoes and onions were said to have been unsuitable for the animals.
Officials from Central Bedfordshire Council launched an investigation into the incident and discovered the allegations were true.

A zoo to a thrill – handwashing at the petting zoo, animated version

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A fellow food safety nerd wrote to tell me he spent Sunday at the zoo with his wife and two young children, and was amazed at the various public health practices that do or do not exist when mixing children, animals, and food, all in the same place.

Ironically – or maybe like the Alanis song, more of a coincidence – Sorenne and I were chilling to Special Agent Oso while chowing on some oatmeal and berries and it was the petting zoo episode.

Amy has already written about this episode because, like most children’s television series, a dozen original episodes are produced and then replayed incessantly.

Washed hands before feeding the llama reduces disease transmission from humans to animals; washing hands after feeding the llama reduces disease transmission from animals to humans: diseases go both ways. The kid in this episode got it right, with handwashing before and after.

Useless trivia: Special Agent Oso, the unique stuffed bear, is voiced by Sean Astin, the movie actor known for roles in The Goonies, Rudy, Lord of the Rings, and as the steroid abusing dim-witted brother in 50 First Dates.

E. coli at Denver Stock Show came from kids’ area; do people know the risks with petting zoos?

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The Denver Post reports that exposure to animals at Denver’s National Western Stock Show was the likely cause of an E. coli outbreak that occurred in the Denver area in January and February, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said today.

Specifically, contact with animals in the "Feed the Animals" exhibit on the third floor children’s area of the exposition center was probably where the outbreak originated, according to the extensive 15-page report.

A total of 30 cases were identified.

Children were disproportionately affected in the outbreak, suggesting a source that children would likely have more contact with than adults.

The report noted that the third floor children’s area of the expo center had a variety of exhibits geared towards children, including pony rides, a playground area, cages housing rabbits and poultry, educational exhibits, and hands-on activities.

In addition, food vendors were also located on the floor.

One of the exhibits was the "Feed the Animals" exhibit, where calves, goats, lambs, pigs and other farm animals were brought in from private owners located throughout the region. …

There were opportunities throughout the day for the visitors to feed the animals.

While feeding the animals was not a risk for illness, touching them put the visitors at higher risk of developing E. coli infection.

The investigators said that while hand sanitizer dispensers were readily available in the "Feed the Animals" area, and there were numerous signs instructing visitors to practice hand hygiene, the use of the sanitizers "was not protective against the illness."

In addition, handwashing facilities with running water, soap and paper towels were not readily available in the area.

There were no signs that warned that animals could cause disease or any that specifically cautioned against sipping from cups or eating or drinking in the animal contact areas as well as the use of strollers in that area.

The investigators suggested that such signs be posted in the future.

Parents pissed E. coli petting zoo reopening

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The petting farm at the centre of an E.coli outbreak that left several children seriously ill and more than 90 people reporting symptoms of the infection, has reopened despite a storm of criticism from parents.

Godstone Farm in Surrey opened its play areas yesterday but kept all visitors out of contact with animals. The attraction, which is still under investigation by the Health Protection Authority, will hold Halloween-related events this weekend.

Tracy Mock, whose two-year-old twins spent weeks in hospital fighting the bug after visiting the site said she was "shocked" to hear of the opening.

"I was under the impression the farm was going to stay closed until they had finished their investigations."