Initial investigations into the recent cases of food poisoning reported in Riyadh found that several attempts had been made to conceal or destroy evidence, Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) said in a statement on Thursday.
The investigation suggested potential collusion by a small number of food inspectors who prioritized personal gain over public health and safety, the statement added.
In Belagavi, India, at least 46 people have fallen ill due to suspected food poisoning. The affected individuals, who exhibited symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, are currently receiving medical attention.
The incident occurred at the annual temple fair of a local village in India’s Karnataka state. Attendees who consumed prasadam – typically vegetarian food served to religious devotees after a specific service – began to report symptoms consistent with foodborne illness.
Posted in Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Poisoning
In September 2023, the UK Health Security Agency identified cases of Salmonella Saintpaul distributed across England, Scotland, and Wales, all with very low genetic diversity. Additional cases were identified in Portugal following an alert raised by the United Kingdom. Ninety-eight cases with a similar genetic sequence were identified, 93 in the United Kingdom and 5 in Portugal, of which 46% were aged under 10 years. Cases formed a phylogenetic cluster with a maximum distance of six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and average of less than one SNP between isolates. An outbreak investigation was undertaken, including a case–control study. Among the 25 UK cases included in this study, 13 reported blood in stool and 5 were hospitalized. One hundred controls were recruited via a market research panel using frequency matching for age. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of food exposures in cases and controls identified a strong association with cantaloupe consumption (adjusted odds ratio: 14.22; 95% confidence interval: 2.83–71.43; p-value: 0.001). This outbreak, together with other recent national and international incidents, points to an increase in identifications of large outbreaks of Salmonella linked to melon consumption. We recommend detailed questioning and triangulation of information sources to delineate consumption of specific fruit varieties during Salmonella outbreaks.
YANGON, May 21 (Xinhua) — A total of 45 people, including 11 children, have been hospitalized for food poisoning in southern Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region, a local rescue organization official told Xinhua on Tuesday.
The victims from Labutta township of Ayeyarwady region fell ill on Monday after eating spicy egg curry, the official said.
The affected people included day laborers and their family members. The laborers received the curry at their workplace and brought it home to share with their families, he said.
Posted in Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, Poisoning
Strains of the staphylococcus bacteria have been detected in samples of school lunches that allegedly caused mass food poisoning among dozens of primary schoolchildren in the city of Lamia last week.
According to the Mayo Clinic, staph bacteria are one of the most common causes of food poisoning. The bacteria multiply in food and produce toxins that make people sick. Symptoms come on quickly, usually within hours of eating contaminated food. Symptoms usually disappear quickly, too, often lasting just half a day.
FREETOWN, May 19 (Xinhua) — A total of 104 people have been hospitalized in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, after consuming contaminated food from a cookery shop.
According to a statement by the University of Sierra Leone Teaching Hospitals Complex late Saturday, the 104 patients from the Mabella community, including 26 children, are all in stable condition, and no deaths have been reported.
The hospital said the patients have shown various symptoms, including vomiting, weakness, dizziness, malaise, and bloody stools, and an emergency response team was immediately activated to provide prompt and comprehensive care to those affected.
The police assisted with crowd control and the investigation of the suspected source of the contamination, which was traced to a local cookery shop, where the owner and his daughters were also affected by the incident.
Further investigation is still underway.
Posted in Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Poisoning
The number of confirmed cases of a waterborne disease caused by a microscopic parasite has more than doubled, while more than 100 further people have reported similar symptoms. Around 16,000 households and businesses in the Brixham area of Devon have been told not to use their tap water for drinking without boiling and cooling it first.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Friday that 46 cases of cryptosporidium had now been confirmed in the fishing town, up from 22 cases on Thursday, and that more cases were anticipated. It added other reported cases of diarrhoea and vomiting in residents and visitors to Brixham were also under investigation.
Dr Bayad Nozad, consultant in health protection at UKHSA, said the Government agency was aware of further reports of illness above their confirmed numbers.
A cruise ship plagued with hundreds of cases of Norovirus has been placed on lockdown while health agencies investigate, insiders have told the Mirror.
Countless passengers have shared horror stories in recent weeks after boarding the P&O Ventura from Southampton. Holidaymakers described violent bouts of sickness, toilets “covered in excrement” and slammed the cruise ship company for its “disgraceful handling” of the situation. The outbreak allegedly started six weeks ago, during which time several cruises have gone ahead.
Posted in food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Quality, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Norovirus, Norovirus Cruise
Posted in Food Illness, Foodborne Illness, Illness
In summer 2022, 20 patient-derived L. monocytogenes serotype 4b sequence type 388 strains were found to belong to an outbreak cluster (≤10 different alleles between neighbouring isolates) based on core genome multilocus sequence typing analysis. Geographically, 18 of 20 outbreak cases occurred in northeastern Switzerland. The median age of patients was 77.4 years (range: 58.1–89.7), with both sexes equally affected. Rolling analysis of the interview data revealed smoked trout from a local producer as a suspected infection source, triggering an on-site investigation of the production facility and sampling of the suspected products by the responsible cantonal food inspection team on 15 July 2022. Seven of ten samples tested positive for L. monocytogenes and the respective cantonal authority ordered a ban on production and distribution as well as a product recall. The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office released a nationwide public alert covering the smoked fish products concerned. Whole-genome sequencing analysis confirmed the interrelatedness of the L. monocytogenes smoked trout product isolates and the patient-derived isolates. Following the ban on production and distribution and the product recall, reporting of new outbreak-related cases rapidly dropped to zero.
FoodWorld 