Category Archives: E.coli

Pathogenic potential of Escherichia coli O26

Posted on February 29, 2012 by | Leave a comment

HPS

E. coli O26 and O157 have similar overall prevalences in cattle in Scotland, but in humans, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O26 (STEC O26) infections are fewer and clinically less severe than E. coli O157 infections. To investigate this discrepancy, E. coli O26 isolates from cattle and humans in Scotland and continental Europe were genotyped. The genetic background of some strains from Scotland was closely related to that of strains causing severe infections in Europe. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling found an association between haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and multilocus sequence type 21 strains and confirmed the role of stx2 in severe human disease.

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O26, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen

Updated Numbers US/Canadian Sprout and Pita – E.coli O026/Salmonella

Posted on February 27, 2012 by | Leave a comment

CDC

A total of 14 individuals infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O26 have been reported from 6 states. The two new cases have been reported from Michigan. Both new cases reported eating at Jimmy John’s restaurants and consuming sprouts in the 7 days preceding illness.

The Spec

Hamilton Public Health officials have discovered another 12 cases of salmonella illnesses after asking anyone who has eaten at Eat a Pita on Main Street East since Feb. 1 to call them.

Officials declared a salmonella outbreak connected to Eat a Pita after investigating four salmonella cases linked to the restaurant. Eat a Pita has been closed as a result of improper food handling. During a previously scheduled health inspection on Feb. 1, it was found that cooked chicken wasn’t being kept at a high enough temperature.

 

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O26, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella

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Canadian Food Recalls – Listeria monocytogenes/E.coli

Posted on February 27, 2012 by | Leave a comment

CIFA

 The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume the refrigerated cold smoked sockeye salmon trim products described in the link above because the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.

CIFA

The public warning issued on February 24, 2012has been expanded to include an additional product and distribution information.

The affected product, Country Morning brand Beef Burgers, is sold frozen, in a 2.27 kg package bearing the UPC 057316 086624 and one of the following codes: 12861 EST 761, 22861 EST 761, 32861 EST 761 or 42861 EST 761.

The Country Morning Beef Burgers product has been distributed to Co-op and TGP grocery stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.

There has been one reported illness associated with the consumption of this product.

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Posted in CIFA, E.coli, E.coli O157, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall

CDC – Advice Raw Sprouts

Posted on February 24, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The most recent outbreak of food borne illness linked to raw sprouts is a restaurant-based outbreak of E. coli O26 associated with consumption of raw clover sprouts served on sandwiches at certain Jimmy John’s locations in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Wisconsin.

Like other restaurant chains and some large food retailers, Jimmy John’s has now removed sprouts from its menu offerings because of the inherent risk of pathogen contamination in this area of fresh produce.

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O26, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology

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Mobile Phone Detection of E.coli?

Posted on February 24, 2012 by | 1 comment

Bites

Researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a new cell phone–based fluorescent imaging and sensing platform that can detect the presence of the bacterium Escherichia coli in food and water. The engineers combined antibody functionalized glass capillaries with quantum dots (semiconductors often used for medical imaging) as signal reporters to specifically detect E. coli particles in liquid samples using a lightweight, compact attachment to an existing cell-phone camera.

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O104, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, STEC

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German Girl dies E.coli EHEC

Posted on February 22, 2012 by | Leave a comment

BarfBlog

The translation is rough and details sketchy, but Focus is reporting a 6-year-old girl from Hamburg died over the weekend from the effects of EHEC, which probably means some strain of shiga-toxin producing E. coli.

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Posted in E.coli, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, STEC

CIFA – Beef Product Recall – E.coli O157

Posted on February 19, 2012 by | Leave a comment

CIFA

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and New Food Classics are warning the public not to consume certain Country Morning Beef Burgers, and no name Club Pack Beef Steakettes described below, because the products may be contaminated with E. coliO157:H7.

The Country Morning Beef Burgers product has been distributed to COOP and TGP grocery stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwest Territories.

There has been one reported illness associated with the consumption of this product.

Food contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 may not look or smell spoiled. Consumption of food contaminated with these bacteria my cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhoea. Some people may have seizures or strokes and some may need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis. Others may live with permanent kidney damage. In severe cases of illness, people may die.

 

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O157, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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More E. coli Research

Posted on February 17, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

In the wake of the devastating European E. coli outbreak linked to sprouts that killed at least 50 people and sickened more than 4,000, experts from the European Union and the United States are calling for new research on how to combat toxic strains of E. coli.
 
In November of 2011, 4 months after the outbreak ended, an international group of public health officials, medical professionals, epidemiologists, microbiologists and environmental scientists met to determine what lessons can be drawn from this epidemic. The results of this summit were released Thursday in Eurosurveillance. 
 
The group determined that more needs to be learned about shiga toxin-producing E. colis (STECs) such as E. coli O104:H4, the strain responsible for the European outbreak.

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Posted in E.coli, E.coli O104, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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E. Coli in Chicken Linked to Urinary Tract Infections

Posted on February 16, 2012 by | Leave a comment

USN – Health News

Scientists have long believed that urinary tract infections are typically caused by a person’s own E. coli bacteria, but a new Canadian study suggests the bacteria may more often than not come from chickens!

Read More at the link above.

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Posted in E.coli, Food Testing, Microbiology

Water Associated Disease Outbreak Research

Posted on February 16, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin 

Seventy-one percent of the world’s water-associated disease outbreaks reported between 1990 and 2008 were water-borne diseases caused by micro-organisms like E. coli that enter water through fecal contamination and cause infection when humans consume contaminated water.

Water-borne (including typhoid and cholera) — 70.9 percent.
Water-based, caused by parasites that spend part of their life in water — 2.9 percent.
Water-related (such as malaria), which need water for breeding of disease-carrying insects — 12.2 percent.
Water-washed, caused by poor hygiene because no clean water is available — 6.8 percent.
Water-dispersed, (such as Legionella), caused by infectious agents that thrive in water and enter the body through the respiratory tract — 7.3 percent.

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Posted in E.coli, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Legionella, Microbiology, Water

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