Monthly Archives: January 2017

PHE

Key points for 2015

 the region that reported the highest number of Campylobacter cases was the South East with 9,489

 54% of Campylobacter cases were male

 the 50-59 year age group had the highest number of cases

 the peak month for Campylobacter reporting in 2015 was June

 in the Second Study of Infectious Intestinal Disease in the Community (IID2 Study), it was estimated that for every one case of Campylobacter identified in national surveillance, there were 9.3 cases in the community (95% confidence interval of 6.0-14.4 cases)1,2

Medical Express

The incident occurred in Turabah, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of Taif in the kingdom’s southwest.

The official Saudi Press Agency said 150 people suffered food poisoning “because of eating meals” at the restaurant.

The online newspaper Sabq, which is close to authorities, said 175 people fell ill after eating shawarma sandwiches, a Middle Eastern staple.

Mecca region governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal ordered an investigation, “with the maximum penalties for the perpetrators of the poisoning incident,” SPA said.

It added that 45 patients “are under surveillance” at Turabah hospital and 32 at other medical facilities.

Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in its medical system.

About 15 percent of this year’s budget is allocated to health and social development spending, including for the setup of hospitals and healthcare centres “in all the regions across the kingdom,” the budget said.

BBC News

The owners of a family butchers at the centre of an alleged E. coli outbreak have denied food hygiene breaches.

Janet Bell and Trevor Robinson appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court charged with seven offences relating to Robinson’s butchers in Billingham.

Fifteen people became infected with the bug in July 2015, Public Health England said.

The pair deny selling meat unfit for human consumption and will appear at Teesside Crown Court on 14 February.

Ten people needed hospital treatment and seven developed serious kidney conditions.

News and Star

More cases of food poisoning have been confirmed after a Cumbrian farm was banned from selling contaminated milk.

In December, Low Sizergh Barn Farm, near Kendal, was banned from selling raw milk from a vending machine after it was found to contain traces of campylobacter bacteria.

A South Lakeland District Council spokesman said: “The number of cases at the moment is 12 confirmed and 53 probables.”

A Food Standards Agency spokesman said: “Low Sizergh Barn Farm in Kendal voluntarily stopped sales of raw cow’s drinking milk and displayed a product recall notice at the point of sale.

USDA 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have developed a highly sensitive test that for the first time is able to detect all known Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, STEC bacteria are responsible for more than 265,000 cases of illness and 3,600 hospitalizations each year in the United States. Nearly 8 percent of patients hospitalized from these infections develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening disease.

ARS Technica 

For years, researchers have been tracking a particularly nasty family of superbugs called CREs, or carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, which can thwart antibiotics in our last lines of defense. Researchers have watched in horror as clinical isolates gathered new molecular weaponry, spread through medical facilities across the globe, and started causing more and more life-threatening infections.

But a new study suggests we’re still only seeing a glimpse of what they’re up to.

In a genetic analysis of 122 CREs that popped up in four US hospitals, researchers discovered that isolates are far more diverse than expected, and some of them could disarm our toughest drugs using methods researchers had never even seen before. The hospitals—three in Boston and one in Irvine, California—had little overlap in their CRE collections. Within each hospital, there was a variety of CRE types, spanning several species, with a medley of genetic backgrounds and resistance genes.

Food Poisoning Bulletin 

Candy trays distributed to 242 grocery stores across eight states have been recalled because they may have been poisoned with Salmonella bacteria. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),  Hy-Vee, Inc., headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, issued the recall after Palmer Candy Company initiated a limited recall of some chocolate products after it was alerted  by its supplier, Valley Milk Products LLC, that a milk powder ingredient in the chocolate might have been contaminated with Salmonella.

Salmonella bacteria is a very dangerous bacteria that causes food poisoning. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that it causes 1.2 million cases of food poisoning in the United States each year. Approximately 450 of these cases are fatal.

FDA

Eatonton, GA – Blue Ridge Beef is voluntarily recalling one (1) of its frozen products due to their potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria can affect animals eating the product. There is a risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surface exposed to these products.

Healthy people infected with Listeria monocytogenes should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting,diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.

The affected products are sold in 2 lb chubs and can be identified with the following manufacturing codes:

Lot #103 mfd12716
Turkey with bone
UPC code 854298001887

African Journal of Microbiology 

Species within the Staphylococcus genus are important mastitis pathogens. Studies to describe virulence and antibiotic resistance as well as rapid techniques that permit analyses strains are needed. The aims were to identify and characterize Staphylococcus spp. isolated from mastitic milk, and to optimize multiplex polymerase chain reactions (PCR). Staphylococci previously isolated from milk of dairy cows with subclinical mastitis were analyzed. PCR was completed to amplify nuc, sodA, spa, agr locus, virulence factors, and antibiotic resistance genes. DNA sequencing of sodA and spa genes was performed and antibiograms were carried out on all isolates. In a group of 49 staphylococci, S. aureus was the most prevalent, followed by S. hyicus, S. xylosus, S. chromogenes. Following optimization of multiplex PCR, virulence factor genes were identified in the majority of isolates. The enterotoxin genes, seh and selx were highlighted. All hemolysin genes were detected in 28.6% of isolates. Antibiotic resistance was evaluated and the majority of isolates (69.4%) were resistant to penicillin. Among the genes encoding antibiotic resistance, mecA was identified, while two methicillin-resistant S. aureus were typed as spa type 605, agr type II, and one identified as SCCmec type IVa. The types t605 and agr II were detected in the majority of S. aureus assessed. The findings emphasized the importance of preventing Staphylococcus infection in dairy cows. Effective dairy herd management and information on milk quality are essential to prevent mastitis pathogens.

Dairy Reporter

Errington Cheese has been halted in plans to go back to market after a link to an E. coli outbreak last year.