In the May of 2023, a significant increase in Cyclospora cases associated with a Mexican-style restaurant in Limestone County, Alabama was investigated by the Alabama Department of Public Health. An outbreak investigation was initiated on June 7, 2023. A case control study was launched on June 12. Exposures were reported between May 20 and June 6, 2023.
To analyze the nationwide incidence of Salmonella infections in Denmark from 2013 to 2022.
Confirmed cases of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica were examined using the National Register of Enteric Pathogens during 2013–2022. Proportions, incidence rates (IR), relative risk (RR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess differences in serotypes, invasiveness, age, sex, and travel exposure.
We identified 9,944 Danish Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica cases, with an average annual incidence rate of 16.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, declining during the COVID-19 pandemic. Typhoidal cases totaled 206, with an average annual IR of 0.35 per 100,000 inhabitants. Enteric fever patients had a median age of 24 years (IQR:17–36). Leading non-typhoid Salmonella (NTS) serotypes were S. Enteritidis (26.4%), monophasic S. Typhimurium (16.5%), and S. Typhimurium (13.5%). Median age for NTS cases was 42 (IQR: 18–62), with even sex distribution, and a third reported travel prior to onset of disease. The overall percentage of invasive NTS (iNTS) infection was 8.1% (CI: 7.6–8.7). Eleven serotypes were associated with higher invasiveness, with S. Dublin and S. Panama having the highest invasiveness with age and sex-adjusted RR of 7.31 (CI: 6.35–8.43) and 5.42 (CI: 3.42–8.60), respectively, compared to all other NTS serotypes. Increased age was associated with higher RR for iNTS infection.
During the decade, there was a limited number of typhoidal cases. The dominant NTS serotypes were S. Enteritidis and monophasic S. Typhimurium, whereas S. Dublin and S. Panama exhibited the highest invasive potential.
The number of outbreaks almost doubled in Hong Kong in 2023 compared to the year before.
Officials reviewed food poisoning outbreaks related to food premises and businesses reported to the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) in 2023.
CFS and the Department of Health are responsible for investigating and controlling outbreaks related to local food premises.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (April 3) investigating a case of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection, and hence reminded the public to maintain good personal, food and environmental hygiene against intestinal infections.
The case involves a 32-year-old female with good past health, who presented with fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomit on March 15. She attended the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) of North Lantau Hospital (NLTH) on the same day. She has been in stable condition and did not require hospitalisation.
Her stool specimen grew STEC upon laboratory testing.
Posted in Food Illness, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Shigatoxin, STEC, STEC E.coli
A banquet hall in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊) has been ordered to suspend operations amid an investigation into a suspected food poisoning outbreak affecting 62 people, the city’s health department said yesterday.
The New Taipei City Department of Health said it received reports on Sunday of people experiencing an upset stomach after attending banquets held by Watson’s Personal Care Stores (Taiwan) Co at Gala De Chine Xinzhuang Crystal Crown Plaza (雲品集團新莊晶冠館) on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.
Watson’s Taiwan, the nation’s largest cosmetics and drugstore operator, told the health department that 62 of the 2,201 people who attended the banquets last week reported having an upset stomach.
Posted in Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, Illness
Taipei, April 2 (CNA) A toxin believed to be the key to a lethal food poisoning outbreak in a Taipei restaurant has been detected in one of the environmental samples taken from the restaurant’s kitchen, confirming the presence of Bongkrecik acid in the restaurant, according to officials and experts on Tuesday.
At a press conference on Tuesday morning, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the toxin, Bongkrekic acid, was found on samples collected from a chopping board, two knives, and one of the chef’s hands in the Xinyi branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam on March 24.
A total of 104 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella were reported from 33 states. Illnesses started on dates ranging from November 20, 2023, to February 10, 2024. Of 92 people with information available, 27 were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.
Taoyuan prosecutors completed an investigation yesterday into a salmonella poisoning case last year in which more than 500 people became ill.
The prosecutors indicted the proprietor of a food stall at a market in Taoyuan’s Jhongli Distict (中壢) which sold Vietnamese-style sandwhiches known as banh mi.
Prosecutors said that the proprietor, surnamed Nguyen, originally from Vietnam, contravened the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), adding that “she should ensure the cleanliness and safety of food preparation materials, but failed to do so, leading to bacterial contamination.”
The use of whole genome sequencing (WGS)-based surveillance and rapid epidemiological intervention allowed public health experts to quickly link a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium outbreak to cantaloupes grown in the United States.
FoodWorld 