Category Archives: Bacteria

Ottawa Salmonella Outbreak – Now 33 Cases

Posted on March 20, 2012 by | Leave a comment
There now are 37 Salmonella infections in Ottawa, most linked to a catering company that served meals to schools and day care centers, the city’s public health department reported Monday.
 
The outbreak total includes 33 children, ranging in age from 15 months to 18 years old. Three required hospitalization but have since been released. The children all attended one of seven schools or a single day care center.
 
Two of four ill adults appear to be part of the outbreak; two cases may be unrelated, the health department said in a news release.
 
Still no official word on what caused the outbreak of Salmonella poisoning, although the owner of The Lunch Lady catering company, implicated as the source, said earlier that investigators were looking at ground beef used to tacos and lasagna.
 

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella

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UK – Staffordshire Closed Till Easter – 18 Cases E.coli O157

Posted on March 20, 2012 by | Leave a comment

BBC News 

A Staffordshire primary school which was closed because of an E. coli outbreak is expected to remain shut until after Easter.

The closure followed 18 confirmed cases of E. coli O157 at Friarswood Primary School in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Year 4, 5 and 6 pupils will be taught in a nearby college while a thorough deep cleaning is carried out.

The Health Protection Agency is still trying to find the source of the bacteria, which often causes diarrhoea.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Standards Agency, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, HPA, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

Russia – 37 Sick – E.coli in Butter

Posted on March 19, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Moscow Times

The Moscow Times reports that E. coli bacteria has been found in butter at four kindergartens in the city of Samara, following the hospitalization this week of almost 30 children in the neighboring city of Tolyatti from food poisoning, Itar-Tass reported Friday.
The bacteria was discovered during a food safety check initiated after a raft of food-poisoning cases in Tolyatti, which were apparently caused by dairy products, including tvorog and kefir. In total, 37 children under the age of two fell ill, with 28 of them being hospitalized.
A criminal investigation has been opened in connection with the Tolyatti poisonings, with the charge of failing to meet safety standards in work with young children.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall

CIFA – Recall – E.coli O157

Posted on March 19, 2012 by | Leave a comment

CIFA

The public warning issued on March 15, 2012 has been expanded to include all ground beef products from New Food Classics that were manufactured between July 1, 2011 and February 15, 2012 and described below, because the products may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

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Posted in Bacteria, CIFA, E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

US- Jimmy Johns – Sprout Outbreak- Stands at 25 Ill – Ecoli O26

Posted on March 19, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Journal

A total of 25 people have been sickened in the Jimmy Johns sprouts E. coli O26 outbreak.  They reside in 8 states (Michigan, Alabama, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, and Alabama).  Michigan residents have been hit hardest in the Jimmy Johns outbreak, with 9 illnesses total.  Among these 24 ill persons, illness onset dates ranged from December 25, 2011 to February 15, 2012. Ill persons range in age from 9 years to 53 years old, with a median age of 26 years. Eighty-eight percent of ill persons are female. Among the 24 ill persons, 6 (25%) were hospitalized. None have developed HUS, and no deaths have been reported. Illnesses that occurred after February 19, 2012, might not be reported yet due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O26, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall

Media Foodborne Illness Outbreak Communication Needs Work.

Posted on March 16, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Navigator USA

Effective media communication can be crucial to prevent the spread of foodborne illness outbreaks and to avoid misinformation, global government officials said at a meeting to discuss lessons learned from recent outbreaks.

 

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Illness, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall

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US – Pregnant Woman – Listeriosis – Cheese

Posted on March 16, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety Talk 

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS) Food and Drug Safety Program (FDSP) is warning the public not to consume any cheese products produced by El Ranchero del Sur, LLC of South River, NJ. On March 2, 2012, a 38-week pregnant woman was diagnosed with Listeria monocytogenes infection at a New Brunswick hospital.

Subsequent investigation by the Middlesex County Health Department and product analysis by NJDHSS Public Health Environmental and Agricultural Laboratories confirmed the presence of L. monocytogenes in a sample of Los Corrales Queso Fresco Fresh Cheese and Banana Leaf code dated 03/16/12.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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How Salmonella Avoids the Body’s Immune Response

Posted on March 15, 2012 by | 1 comment

Science Daily – Full Article

Pathogens like salmonella flourish and cause disease in humans through a process by which they acquire metal ions, such as zinc, from the body. One of the body’s key immune responses is to flood the infected area with antimicrobial proteins that include calprotectin, which removes zinc. Without enough of this vital element, most pathogens eventually die.

The study team found, however, that salmonellae overcome this immune response by expressing specialised transporter proteins that enable the bacteria to acquire zinc in spite of calprotectin reducing the amount available in the digestive tract. This distinctive mechanism lets salmonellae continue proliferating.

 At the same time, calprotectin inadvertently promotes salmonella growth by killing the microbes that normally reside within the intestines and help the immune system battle pathogenic bacteria.

 

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Salmonella

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Killer Silk Fibres – Bacteriocidal

Posted on March 15, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

A simple, inexpensive dip-and-dry treatment can convert ordinary silk into a fabric that kills disease-causing bacteria — even the armor-coated spores of microbes like anthrax — in minutes, scientists are reporting in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. They describe a range of potential uses for this new killer silk, including make-shift curtains and other protective coatings that protect homes and other buildings in the event of a terrorist attack with anthrax.

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Posted in Bacteria, Microbiology

Listeria Slows Foetal Heart Rate

Posted on March 15, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Listeriosis causes fetal heart rate to slow for sustained periods of time, according results of a new study by pediatric researchers published in Nature.com. The study was undertaken in mice.

 The ultrasound revealed sustained foetal bradycardia, the slowing of the foetal heartbeat, in infected foetuses, with an association between slowed foetal heart rate and strong bioluminescent signal.

 

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Foodborne Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen

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