A Kerry county councillor says it’s hoped a boil water notice affecting 3,500 people for over a month could be lifted later this week.
On October 11th, the HSE issued a boil water notice for people supplied by the Ardfert North/Ballyheigue scheme, following the detection of cryptosporidium.
Irish Water is currently installing a UV system, which is now being commissioned before the matter is referred back to the HSE.
The Health Ministry (KKM) has given out warnings to the public over the weekend on the dangers of cholera after the Petaling Health District discovered one case.
Selangor State Health Department mentioned that the case was reported on 21 October 2021, involving a 56-year-old patient.
The public is urged to:
One is advised to seek immediate medical attention if they’ve experienced diarrhea.
Further investigations have been conducted thoroughly however we have not been able to identify the cause of the infection and no new cases have been received so far. Therefore, in line with the MOH’s recommendation, the Selangor State Health Department would like to emphasize that cholera can spread quickly and can cause death if not treated immediately.
Vulnerable South Australians are reminded to avoid eating uncooked oysters after dozens of food-related illnesses linked to the consumption of raw oysters were reported in the past two months.
South Australia (SA Health’s) Acting Director of Food and Controlled Drugs Branch, Joanne Cammans, said 36 cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections linked to eating raw oysters have been notified since September 2021, compared to no cases in 2020 and eight cases in 2019.
Posted in Contaminated water, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Vibrio, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety
Upgrade works have been carried out on a North Kerry treatment plant, which serves an area that’s been under a boil water notice for four weeks.
The notice for the Ardfert North (Ballyheigue) Public Water Supply was put in place on October 11th due to the detection of cryptosporidium in the public water supply.
Irish Water says 3,500 people are impacted by this boil water notice, which remains in place.
Pathogenic Legionella species grow optimally inside free-living amoebae to concentrations that increase risks to those who are exposed. The aim of this study was to screen a complete drinking water system and cooling towers for the occurrence of Acanthamoeba spp. and Naegleria fowleri and their cooccurrence with Legionella pneumophila, Legionella anisa, Legionella micdadei, Legionella bozemanii, and Legionella longbeachae. A total of 42 large-volume water samples, including 12 from the reservoir (water source), 24 from two buildings (influents to the buildings and exposure sites (taps)), and six cooling towers were collected and analyzed using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). N. fowleri cooccurred with L. micdadei in 76 (32/42) of the water samples. In the building water system, the concentrations of N. fowleri and L. micdadei ranged from 1.5 to 1.6 Log10 gene copies (GC)/100 mL, but the concentrations of species increased in the cooling towers. The data obtained in this study illustrate the ecology of pathogenic Legionella species in taps and cooling towers. Investigating Legionella’s ecology in drinking and industrial waters will hopefully lead to better control of these pathogenic species in drinking water supply systems and cooling towers. View Full-Text
Almost half of the population of Co Longford is subject to a boil water notice which was issued on Thursday.
It comes after the cryptosporidium barrier at a treatment plant was compromised following a deterioration in the raw water quality of the lake source, Irish Water said.
Following consultation with the HSE, Irish Water and Longford County Council decided to issue a boil water notice for the area supplied by the Longford Central Public Water Supply to protect public health.
The population impacted by this notice is approximately 17,500 people. The areas affected include all customers in Longford Town, Newtown Forbes, Balinalee, part of Edgeworthstown, part of Drumlish, part of Killashee and surrounding areas.
Experts from Irish Water and Longford County Council are assessing the situation with a view to having the notice lifted as quickly as possible. In the meantime, all customers of this supply are advised to boil water before use until further notice.
Irish Water and Tipperary County Council have issued a Boil Water Notice for households, businesses and other customers supplied by the Carrick-on-Suir (Lingaun) Public Water Supply following the detection of cryptosporidium in the water supply.
The Boil Water Notice, announced this evening, was imposed to protect approximately 4,000 people served by this water supply following advice received from the Health Service Executive and it will .
Vulnerable customers who have concerns can contact our customer care team on 1800 278 278.
For customers who wish to check if their property is on the Boil Water Notice themselves, please go to the following link on the Irish Water website: https://www.water.ie/?map= supply-and-service-updates, enter the property’s Eircode and you will then see if your property is on the Boil Water Notice.
Water must be boiled for:
Drinking;
Drinks made with water;
Preparation of salads and similar foods, which are not cooked prior to eating;
Brushing of teeth;
Making of ice – discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers and filtered water in fridges. Make ice from cooled boiled water.
What actions should be taken:
Use water prepared for drinking when preparing foods that will not be cooked (e.g. washing salads);
Water can be used for personal hygiene, bathing and flushing of toilets but not for brushing teeth or gargling;
Boil water by bringing to a vigorous, rolling boil (e.g. with an automatic kettle) and allow to cool. Cover and store in a refrigerator or cold place. Water from the hot tap is not safe to drink. Domestic water filters will not render water safe to drink;
Caution should be taken when bathing children to ensure that they do not swallow the bathing water;
Prepare infant feeds with water that has been brought to the boil once and cooled. Do not use water that has been re-boiled several times. If bottled water is used for the preparation of infant feeds it should be boiled once and cooled. If you are using bottled water for preparing baby food, be aware that some natural mineral water may have high sodium content. The legal limit for sodium in drinking water is 200mg per litre. Check the label on the bottled water to make sure the sodium or `Na’ is not greater than 200mg per litre. If it is, then it is advisable to use a different type of bottled water. If no other water is available, then use this water for as short a time as possible. It is important to keep babies hydrated.
Great care should be taken with boiled water to avoid burns and scalds as accidents can easily happen, especially with children.
Updates will be available on our Water Supply Updates section on water.ie including a map of the affected area, on Twitter @IWCare and via our customer care helpline, open 24/7 on 1800 278 278. Customers are advised to set their location on water.ie to view updates specific to their water supply. Further information in relation to the boil water notice is available from https://www.water.ie/water- supply/water-quality/boil- water-notice/
Irish Water continues to work at this time with our Local Authority partners, contractors and others to safeguard the health and well-being of both staff and the public and to ensure the continuity of critical drinking water and wastewater services. Irish Water would like to remind people to follow the HSE COVID-19 advice and ensure frequent handwashing.
Posted in Boil Water Notice, Contaminated water, Cryptosporidiosis, Cryptosporidium, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety
Yearly, 23 million foodborne disease illnesses and 5,000 deaths are estimated in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region, and 41 foodborne Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per 100,000 population were estimated for the WHO Sub-Region EUR A in 2010 [1]. In Europe, a total of 5,146 foodborne and waterborne outbreaks, including 48,365 cases of illness and 40 deaths were reported to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2018 [2]. Vulnerable populations, including elderly patients, immunocompromised patients, children younger than five years old and pregnant women are more susceptible to foodborne infections and are more prone to develop severe courses of disease compared with healthy people [3]. Therefore, healthcare is a setting where foodborne outbreaks (FBO) can cause considerable morbidity and mortality. In 2020, 20.6% of the European Union (EU) population was aged 65 years and older [4]. As the proportion of elderly people is projected to further increase, the share of the vulnerable population as patients in healthcare facilities (HCF) is likely to increase and thereby the risk associated with healthcare-associated foodborne outbreaks (HA-FBO). Personnel (medical and non-medical staff, food handlers etc) of HCF may also be at risk for HA-FBO and be a source of further spread in healthcare settings and elsewhere. This can cause major disruption of services [5].
So far, literature reviews have covered pathogens responsible for HA-FBO, including Salmonella [6], Listeria monocytogenes [7–9] and norovirus [10,11] and focused on microbiological food safety issues in healthcare settings [5,12]. Between 2014 and 2019, a listeriosis outbreak in Germany affected 13 cases who had an inpatient stay in 12 different HCF during the incubation period [13]. In the United Kingdom (UK) in 2019, nine listeriosis cases of which seven died, had consumed sandwiches in seven HCF during the incubation period [14].
We conducted a literature review to describe the causative agents including bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi, the incriminated food vehicles and other outbreak characteristics of HA-FBO in 37 countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) [15]. Furthermore, we analysed German surveillance data and data from the EFSA on HA-FBO. The aim of this article is to describe the current status of HA-FBO in order to improve surveillance and provide public health recommendations for prevention.
Posted in Contaminated water, food bourne outbreak, food contamination, food death, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, Food Poisoning Death, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Temperature Abuse, Food Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Norovirus, outbreak, Research, Salmonella, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety
Food Safety Department officials on Tuesday inspected the restaurants from where breakfast is parcelled to the hostel of the private entrance coaching centre whose students were hospitalised after suspected food poisoning on Monday.
Officials said that only lunch and supper were being served at the hostel canteen which did not have a licence. Breakfast was being brought from these restaurants. They didn’t have a certificate to prove the quality of drinking water and the cooks had not taken the mandatory medical fitness test. Drinking water samples have been sent to the regional analytical laboratory for detailed tests. A notice had already been served on the coaching centre. The officials said, however, said that no violations were noticed in the restaurants.
Posted in Contaminated water, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Spoilage, Poisoning, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety
The amount of coastal water in which harmful bacteria can live has increased 56% over the past few decades, a report published Wednesday found.
That bacteria family, called Vibrio, lives in salty or brackish coastal waters, including in the US and Canada. The infection it causes, vibriosis, is usually contracted by eating raw or undercooked seafood or by exposing a wound to bacteria-infested seawater. Mild cases resolve in about three days, but Vibrio can also cause severe diseases, including gastroenteritis, life-threatening cholera, dangerous wound infections, and sepsis.
One species of Vibrio bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus, is referred to as flesh-eating because the bacteria can aggressively destroy body tissue. Those infections, though rare, often require intensive care or amputation. And they can be fatal, killing one in five infected people, usually within two days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The reasons Vibrio is becoming a greater threat are that sea surface temperatures are rising and seawater is getting saltier. That’s one of many alarming findings from the medical journal The Lancet’s sixth annual report on health and climate change. In it, researchers from academia and the United Nations tracked 44 indicators of health effects linked to climate change.
Posted in Contaminated water, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Research, Vibrio, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio cholera, vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificans, Vibrio vulnificus, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety
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