RASFF -shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (stx1+; stx2+; aea+) and Staphylococcus aureus (47000 CFU/g) and high count of Escherichia coli (60000 CFU/g) in soft cheese made from raw milk from France
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Category Archives: E.coli
USA -Utah STEC Outbreak Investigated; Petting Zoos and Farms Studied
Public health officials in Utah are investigating an increase in Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections (STEC) in that state, according to the Utah Department of Health. The source of this Utah STEC outbreak has not been identified, but some patients said they visited farms, corn mazes, and petting zoos before they got sick.
Posted in E.coli, STEC, Uncategorized, VTEC
Research – Investigation into an outbreak of Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 PT 21/28 Stx2 in England, August 2017 – Raw Pet Foods
In August 2017, a cluster of 4 cases infected with genetically related strains of STEC O157 was identified. The strains possessed the stx2a toxin subtype, a toxin type known to be associated with more severe disease and the development of Haemolytic Ureamic Syndrome (HUS), a serious complication of this infection, predominantly affecting the kidneys. One case had died following development of HUS.
A multi-agency investigation was undertaken which included re-interviewing cases and the sampling and testing of implicated products. Interviews indicated that 3 of the cases had been exposed to dogs fed on a raw meat based diet), specifically, tripe. In 2 cases, the tripe has been purchased from the same supplier.
While one case was not linked to raw pet food, as cattle and sheep are the main reservoir of STEC in the UK, exposure to the same strain of STEC may have occurred through a different route. This may be indirect or direct exposure to the infected animals which entered the pet feed supply chain for example. Alternatively, the case may have been exposed to an animal fed a raw meat based diet without being aware of, or being able to recall that exposure.
Sampling and microbiological screening of raw pet food was undertaken and indicated the presence of STEC in the products. STEC was isolated from one sample of raw tripe but was different to the strain causing illness in the humans. Nevertheless, isolation of STEC did provide evidence for microbiological contamination of tripe and its pathogenic risk to human health and that it was a plausible transmission route in this outbreak. This adds to the evidence of raw pet food as a risk factor for zoonotic transmission of GI pathogens, which is already relatively widely accepted for salmonella, listeria and campylobacter.
Feeding raw meat based diet to companion animals has recently increased in popularity due to both increasing availability and beliefs that they provide health benefits to animals. Although still rare, an increase in STEC cases reporting exposure to raw meat based diet ’s was detected in 2017. There has also been an increased frequency of raw pet food incidents in 2017, suggesting an increasing trend in potential risk to humans from raw pet food. IMT concluded that the best approach to reduce the risk of infection is to improve awareness of risk and promote good hygiene practices amongst the public when handling raw pet food.
Posted in Animal Feed, E.coli, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, Pet Food, STX 1, STX 2, Uncategorized
Research – Use of Cold Plasma To Inactivate Escherichia coli and Physicochemical Evaluation in Pumpkin Puree
This work aimed to study the pumpkin puree processing by cold plasma corona discharge as an alternative to heat treatment to reduce Escherichia coli contamination and evaluate physicochemical alterations, using argon (Ar) as the process gas. The treatment time to verify E. coli inactivation was between 2 and 20 min, while physicochemical alterations were analyzed at 5, 10, 15, and 20 min. Cold plasma corona discharge technology to inactivate E. coli proved to be promising, reaching 3.62 log cycles of reduction at 20 min of treatment. The inactivation kinectics showed a tendency of higher decrease with time. Physicochemical characteristics indicate that plasma induces a decrease of pH; however, there is an indication that process gases have an important role and react with the environment and procedure reactive species. This technology may reduce the total carotenoid content of pumpkin puree and in color, mainly the a* parameter, which showed great reduction.
Research – Factors Affecting Microbiological Quality of Vegetable- and Meat-Based Meals Served at Cafeterias in the Republic of Korea
A total of 364 samples of vegetable- and meat-based meals were collected at three processing steps: step I, preparation of raw ingredients; step II, processing and cooking; and step III, finished meals. Microbiological quality was evaluated by using data for the prevalence and concentration of the aerobic plate counts, total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC), and Escherichia coli. The data were analyzed for differences between cafeterias, seasons, raw materials, and processing steps. Fourteen (15.2%) of the 92 finished meal samples were microbiologically unsatisfactory. Neither cafeteria nor season was significantly associated with microbiological quality (P > 0.05). However, the type of raw ingredients and processing steps were significantly associated with differences in microbiological quality. Vegetable-based meals had higher TC concentrations than meat-based meals because salad and seasoned and fermented vegetables are not cooked, unlike heat-processed meat products. Microbial counts tended to decrease through the processing steps, and E. coli, which could only be enumerated on uncooked chicken breast (1.6 log CFU/g) and sliced pork (2.6 log CFU/g), was totally eliminated by boiling and roasting. However, the presence of FC was not completely eliminated, even by cooking, and so this group of organisms should be considered as an important indicator of hygienic meal preparation in cafeterias. Although pathogenic E. coli was not isolated in this study, continuous microbiological monitoring of composite foods served in cafeterias should be performed as the presence of TC and FC in finished meals indicates the potential for contamination by pathogenic E. coli.
RASFF Alert – STEC E.coli -Chilled Beef – Sprouts – Sunflower Seeds -Boneless Beef
RASFF-shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (stx1+ /25g) in chilled beef from Argentina in the Netherlands
RASFF-shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (stx2+ /25g) in chilled beef from Argentina in the Netherlands
RASFF-shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (stx2+ /25g) in chilled beef from Argentina in the Netherlands
RASFF-shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in sprouts from Germany, with raw material from Italy in Germany
RASFF-shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (presence /25g) in sunflower seeds from Bulgaria, packaged in Italy in Italy
RASFF-shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (stx2+) in chilled boneless beef striploin from Argentina in the Netherlands
RASFF Alerts – E.coli -Live Oysters – Chilled Mussels
RASFF Alerts – STEC E.coli – Frozen Beef – Raw Milk Cheese
RASFF Alert – E.coli – Mussels
RASFF– high count of Escherichia coli (2400 MPN/100g) in mussels from Spain in Italy
Research – Traveler’s diarrhoea: Researchers develop 3-in-1 vaccine
Image CDC
A first-ever vaccine designed to deliver a one-two-three punch against the main causes of traveller’s diarrhea worldwide may result from new research published by a University of Guelph chemist.
Prof. Mario Monteiro says his novel three-in-one approach to developing a new vaccine could also save lives in developing countries, where it’s estimated that these three common pathogens kill more than 100,000 children under age five each year.
His research was recently published in the journal Vaccine.
The paper discusses Monteiro’s so-called conjugate vaccine that yokes together proteins from pathogenic E. coli with sugars from Shigella and Campylobacter jejuni. All three bugs are major causes of bacterial diarrhea globally.
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