Category Archives: Foodborne Illness

UK – Estimating deaths from foodborne disease in the UK for 11 key pathogens

Posted on January 6, 2022 by | Leave a comment

NCBI

Objective

To estimate the number of deaths from foodborne disease in the UK from 11 key pathogens.

Design

Four different models were developed using data from a range of sources. These included enhanced surveillance, outbreaks, death certificates and hospital episode statistics data. For each model, median estimates were produced with 95% credible intervals (CrI). The results from the different models were compared.

Results

The estimates for foodborne deaths for each pathogen from the different models were consistent, with CrIs largely overlapping. Based on the preferred model for each pathogen, foodborne norovirus is estimated to cause 56 deaths per year (95% CrI 32 to 92), foodborne Salmonella 33 deaths (95% CrI 7 to 159), foodborne Listeria monocytogenes 26 deaths (95% CrI 24 to 28), foodborne Clostridium perfringens 25 deaths (95% CrI 1 to 163) and foodborne Campylobacter 21 deaths (95% CrI 8 to 47). The considerable overlap in the CrIs means it is not possible to make any firm conclusions on ranking. Most of these deaths occur in those aged over 75 years. Foodborne deaths from Shigella, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, adenovirus, astrovirus and rotavirus are all rare.

Conclusions

We estimate that there are 180 deaths per year in the UK (95% CrI 113 to 359) caused by foodborne disease based on these 11 pathogens. While this is a small fraction of the estimated 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness per year it still illustrates the potential severity of these illnesses demonstrating the importance in continuing efforts to reduce these infections.

Keywords: infectious disease, Campylobacter, Salmonella

Summary box

What is already known about this subject?

  • Foodborne disease is a common illness in the UK.

  • Previous research has estimated that there are 566 000 cases, 74 000 general practitioner presentations and 7600 hospital admissions related to foodborne disease from 13 known pathogens in UK; no estimate was made for deaths.

  • Campylobacter and norovirus are the most common foodborne pathogens in the UK.

  • Other common foodborne pathogens include Clostridium perfringens and Salmonella.

What are the new findings?

  • This study provides updated estimates of deaths for each of the 11 key foodborne pathogens considered; in total, these 11 pathogens cause 180 deaths per year in the UK (95% credible interval (CrI) 113 to 359).

  • Among them, Campylobacter, C. perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and norovirus pathogens are responsible for over 98% of these deaths.

  • Ranking between these five is difficult due to overlapping CrIs.

How might it impact on clinical practice in the foreseeable future?

  • This highlights the potential severity of Salmonella, L. monocytogenes, C. perfringens, Campylobacter and norovirus, particularly in comparison with other infectious intestinal diseases that have a food source.

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Posted in Adenovirus, Astrovirus, Campylobacter, Clostridium, Clostridium perfringens, Cryptosporidium, Death, 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 Testing, Food Toxin, Food Virus, foodborne disease, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Giardia, Illness, Listeria monocytogenes, Norovirus, Pathogen, pathogenic, Research, Rotavirus, Salmonella, Shigella

USA – Hepatitis A outbreak linked to unnamed Italian restaurant in Montgomery County Pennsylvania – 8 cases with 1 death – Hepatitis A scare tied to Russellville Arkansas Wendy’s

Posted on January 6, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Poison Journal

Food Safety News reports that State officials are reporting a hepatitis A outbreak among patrons of an unnamed Italian restaurant in Pennsylvania. One death is being investigated as part of the outbreak.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Montgomery County Office of Public Health are investigating the outbreak in southeast Pennsylvania.

Health officials report that there are eight confirmed patients among Pennsylvania residents in Montgomery County. Of seven people with information available, six have been so sick they had to be admitted to hospitals.

Hepatitis A is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable, liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus ranging in severity from mild infection lasting a few weeks to severe disease lasting several months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The virus usually spreads when a person unknowingly ingests microscopic amounts of it from objects, food or drinks contaminated by an infected person.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, 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 recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Hepatitis A, Illness, outbreak, Virus

Thailand – Norovirus outbreak reported in Chanthaburi

Posted on January 4, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Outbreak News Today

Norovirus Food Safety kswfoodworld

According to the Head of the Clinical Emerging Disease Center Chulalongkorn Hospital, Asst. Prof. Dr. Opas Putcharoen said test results of 6 out of 8 people patients were Norovirus Genogroup II.

Earlier this week, reporters reported that their were a number of people on social media posting messages about the phenomenon of people in Chanthaburi province who had diarrhea, food poisoning and abdominal pain at the same time.

Reports are in residents and tourists. A specific location or food source has not been reported.

Officials recommend careful handwashing with soap and water.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Norovirus, outbreak, Virus

USA – Alaska hit with 2 E. coli illnesses linked to Simple Truth Organic Power Greens and Nature’s Basket Organic Power Greens – E.coli O157

Posted on December 31, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Food Poison Journal

As of December 29, 2021, 13 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from six states. Illnesses started on dates ranging from November 27, 2021, to December 9, 2021.

Sick people range in age from 4 to 79 years, with a median age of 54, and 92% are female. Of 12 people with information available, four have been hospitalized and one person developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). No deaths have been reported.

State and local public health officials are interviewing people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of 12 people interviewed, all reported eating packaged salads. Of 10 people who provided brand information, 6 ate or bought Simple Truth Organic Power Greens and 1 ate Nature’s Basket Organic Power Greens. Both Organic Power Greens salads have the same mix of leafy greens: organic spinach, mizuna, kale, and chard. Several sick people reported using these salads in smoothies.

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Posted in E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food bourne outbreak, 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 recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, outbreak, STEC, STEC E.coli

RASFF Alert – EIEC Outbreak – Spring Onions

Posted on December 31, 2021 by | Leave a comment

RASFF

Spring onions from Egypt suspected to be the source of an outbreak of EIEC in Denmark

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Posted in Bacterial Toxin, E.coli, EIEC, food bourne outbreak, 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 recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, outbreak, RASFF, Toxin

Slovenia – Around 100 people in Ilirska Bistrica infected with Norovirus

Posted on December 30, 2021 by | Leave a comment

STA

norovirus-1080x655

Ilirska Bistrica, 29 December – After the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija reported of a mass food poisoning in the Ilirska Bistrica area in south-eastern Slovenia, further investigations revealed that around a hundred people contracted norovirus, which can be transmitted in various ways, not just through food.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, 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 Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Norovirus, outbreak, Virus

Research – Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella enterica Serovar Heidelberg with Unidentified Source, Australia, 2018–2019

Posted on December 29, 2021 by | Leave a comment

CDC

Abstract

We report a multistate Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg outbreak in Australia during 2018–2019. Laboratory investigation of cases reported across 5 jurisdictions over a 7-month period could not identify a source of infection but detected indicators of severity and invasiveness. The hospitalization rate of 36% suggested a moderately severe clinical picture.

Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg is a frequently identified serotype among infections in humans in North America, East Africa, and Asia but is uncommon in Australia. An average of 37 cases of Salmonella Heidelberg were notified in Australia annually in 2009–2017, predominantly overseas acquired (1). Six outbreaks have been reported nationally since 1995; 1 outbreak in 1996 had >500 cases, but most have <7 cases (R. Bell, pers. comm. [email], 2020 Jun 16). We report a national outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg infection across 5 jurisdictions over 7 months.

We report a national outbreak investigation of a locally uncommon S. enterica serovar of unknown origins in Australia. Although Salmonella Heidelberg outbreaks are relatively uncommon in Australia, given this outbreak’s comparatively high hospitalization rate and the presence of saf fimbrial genes in the implicated strain, future cases warrant prompt investigation to assess severity and invasiveness. A platform for real-time exchange of sequence data in Australia and use of routine WGS for salmonellosis cases, including comparison with local and international strain data, may enable more timely detection of outbreaks.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, 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 recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, outbreak, Salmonella

Research – Assessment of Food and Waterborne Viral Outbreaks by Using Field Epidemiologic, Modern Laboratory and Statistical Methods—Lessons Learnt from Seven Major Norovirus Outbreaks in Finland

Posted on December 27, 2021 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Food Borne Illness - Norovirus -CDC Photo

Seven major food- and waterborne norovirus outbreaks in Western Finland during 2014–2018 were re-analysed. The aim was to assess the effectiveness of outbreak investigation tools and evaluate the Kaplan criteria. We summarised epidemiological and microbiological findings from seven outbreaks. To evaluate the Kaplan criteria, a one-stage meta-analysis of data from seven cohort studies was performed. The case was defined as a person attending an implicated function with diarrhoea, vomiting or two other symptoms. Altogether, 22% (386/1794) of persons met the case definition. Overall adjusted, 73% of norovirus patients were vomiting, the mean incubation period was 44 h (4 h to 4 days) and the median duration of illness was 46 h. As vomiting was a more common symptom in children (96%, 143/149) and diarrhoea among the elderly (92%, 24/26), symptom and age presentation should drive hypothesis formulation. The Kaplan criteria were useful in initial outbreak assessments prior to faecal results. Rapid food control inspections enabled evidence-based, public-health-driven risk assessments. This led to probability-based vehicle identification and aided in resolving the outbreak event mechanism rather than implementing potentially ineffective, large-scale public health actions such as the withdrawal of extensive food lots. Asymptomatic food handlers should be ideally withdrawn from high-risk work for five days instead of the current two days. Food and environmental samples often remain negative with norovirus, highlighting the importance of research collaborations. Electronic questionnaire and open-source novel statistical programmes provided time and resource savings. The public health approach proved useful within the environmental health area with shoe leather field epidemiology, combined with statistical analysis and mathematical reasoning.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Norovirus, outbreak, Virus

Research – Salmonella Serotypes Associated with Illnesses after Thanksgiving Holiday, United States, 1998–2018

Posted on December 24, 2021 by | Leave a comment

CDC

Abstract

We sought to determine which Salmonella serotypes cause illness related to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States and to foods disproportionately eaten then (e.g., turkey). Using routine surveillance for 1998–2018 and a case-crossover design, we found serotype Reading to be most strongly associated with Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving, celebrated annually in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November, often brings together family and friends who eat specific traditional foods, such as mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie; the most prominent food eaten is turkey (1). In 2017, ≈45 million turkeys were produced for Thanksgiving, ≈18% of annual production (2). Turkey is popular across regions, races, sexes, and generations; 88% of persons in the United States report eating turkey during their Thanksgiving meal (1,3,4).

Foodborne Salmonella infections cause substantial illness and death in the United States: an estimated 1 million cases, 20,000 hospitalizations, and 400 deaths occur annually (5). Typical illness consists of diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain lasting 3–7 days; only a minority of persons seek health care. Incubation typically ranges from 6 hours to 6 days (5). Salmonella outbreaks caused by serotypes Hadar and Saint Paul have been most commonly attributed to turkey, and serotypes Enteritidis, Heidelberg, and Typhimurium have been frequent causes of turkey-associated outbreaks (6). During 2015‒2020, Reading and Hadar were the serotypes most often isolated from turkeys (7); less is known about which serotypes cause turkey-associated sporadic Salmonella infections. We aimed to determine which Salmonella serotypes cause sporadic enteric infections after the Thanksgiving holiday and are most likely related to foods disproportionately eaten then, particularly turkey.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, outbreak, Salmonella

Viking Sea Cruise – outbreak update: Vibrio and E. coli reported as causative agents

Posted on December 23, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Outbreak News Today

Norovirus Food Safety kswfoodworld

In a follow-up on the gastrointestinal illness outbreak that affected 118 passengers and crew onboard a recent Viking Cruise Lines Viking Sea voyage, The Centers for Disease Control Prevention Vessel Sanitation Program (CDC-VSP) reported the causative agents as Vibrio (no species indicated) and E. coli on Wednesday.

This is the first and only cruise ship outbreak investigated and reported by VSP this year.

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Posted in E.coli, food bourne outbreak, food contamination, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Norovirus, outbreak