Category Archives: Foodborne Illness

USA- FDA – Investigations of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

FDA

What’s New

  • For the outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi B var. L(+) tartrate+ (ref #1157), FDA initiated an on-site inspection and sample collection and analysis. The case count has increased from 33 to 34 cases.
  • For the outbreak of Cyclospora cayetanensis (ref #1159), the case count has increased from 34 to 36 cases.
Date
Posted
Ref Pathogen
or
Cause of
Illness
Product(s)
Linked to
Illnesses

(if any)
Total
Case
Count

Status
6/14/2023 1157 Salmonella
Paratyphi B
var. L(+)
tartrate+
Not Yet
Identified
34 Active
6/14/2023 1159 Cyclospora
cayetanensis
Not Yet
Identified
36 Active
5/24/2023 1156 Salmonella
Enteritidis
Raw
Cookie
Dough
See
Advisory
Active
4/26/2023 1152 Not Yet
Identified
Morel
Mushroom
See
Advisory
Active
3/1/2023 1143 Hepatitis
A Virus
Frozen
Organic
Strawberries
See
Advisory
Active

Wales – E.coli cases being investigated at North Wales school

Daily Post

A North Wales school will be closed to nursery and reception-aged children after two children were diagnosed with an E.coli infection. Children who have been identified as close contacts to the cases are being asked to provide a stool sample as Public Health Wales investigate the infection.

Public Health Wales has confirmed that it is investigating two confirmed cases of E.coli in two children who attend Ysgol Pen Barras in Ruthin. The school will be closed on Monday and Tuesday.

USA – Wedding from Hell at the Fireside Grille in Altoona – Food Poisoning

Food Poison Journal

More than 50 people got sick after attending an Iowa wedding, and the bride’s concerns prompted an inspection that found flaws in the way the catering restaurant stored its meat.

Lindsey Graham-Humphreys told the Des Moines Register that her new husband got sick the morning after the wedding and that she soon learned of others who were also sick. Eventually, she found that 51 people had fallen ill — some for two days or more.

Jordan – Six suspected food poisoning cases in Mafraq

Roya News

There are six suspected food poisoning cases in Mafraq, allegedly in relation to a takeaway restaurant, according to a medical source Thursday.

The source told Roya that the people arrived at the Talal Military Hospital, saying that they had eaten food from a restaurant and developed symptoms of food poisoning.

Another source confirmed that a restaurant in the governorate was suspended from operating due to violations.

The source added that if it was found that the food poisoning was caused by the restaurant’s food, legal measures will be taken against the concerned management.

India- 40 people fall sick due to food poisoning in Orvakal

The Hans India

Orvakal (Kurnool): As many as 40 people, residents of Orvakal village in the mandal, fell ill due to food poisoning. They were rushed to Orvakal primary health care centre (PHC) and community health care centre (CHC) for treatment on Thursday.
According to information, some people of Orvakal village celebrated village Goddess Sunkulamma jatara on Tuesday and they offered food, they cooked, to the Goddess and later they consumed it. On Wednesday, some people developed vomiting and motions and they were taken to PHCC for treatment. Some more persons developed same symptoms on Thursday and they were taken to PHC.

USA – Minnesota Norovirus cases linked to Korean Oysters

Food Poison Journal

Health officials are warning consumers not to eat certain raw oysters harvested in Republic of Korea (ROK) due to possible norovirus contamination. The alert from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) includes the following oysters:

Frozen raw oysters, in half shell, Individual Quick Freezing (IQF), and block form, harvested between 2/10/2022 and 2/24/2022 and between 4/06/2022 and 4/21/2022 from Designated Area No. II, and exported by Dai One Food Co., Ltd. (KR-8-SP), and Central Fisheries Co., Ltd. (KR-6-SP), in Republic of Korea (ROK). More information can be found in the FDA advisory.

USA – Nationwide outbreak from Cyclospora tops 200; officials continue to seek source

Food Safety News

The number of patients in a nationwide outbreak of infections from the foodborne Cyclospora parasite continue to increase, having reached 210 laboratory-confirmed cases.

Federal, state and local public health officials are investigating the outbreak, which is spread across 22 states and New York City, according to a June 22 update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration have been tracking the outbreak since April 1. Additional infections could have started before that date.

Also, there are likely more than 210 people in the ongoing outbreak because of the lag time between when patients become ill and when confirmation testing can be completed and results filed with the CDC. Some sick people don’t seek medical attention, also impacting the outbreak count. The parasite is killed by using antibiotics. Specific tests are required to diagnose Cyclospora infections.

“No specific food items have been identified as the source of most of these illnesses. State and local public health officials are interviewing people with cyclosporiasis to find out what foods they ate before getting sick,” the CDC reported.

USA – Rare Salmonella type behind multi-country outbreak

Food Safety News

Almost 70 people became ill this past year as part of a Salmonella outbreak involving 11 countries, including the United States.

France has the most patients in the Salmonella Ball outbreak but two people from the U.S., aged 44 and 62, were ill in August 2022. They both reported travel to France.

Salmonella Ball is very rare in Europe. Between 2007 and 2021, only 52 cases were reported from 14 countries, with an average of three per year.

Information was shared in a Joint Notification Summary (JNS). These are not made public but Food Safety News has seen a copy. It is prepared by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and affected countries.

An ECDC spokesman said this week that the agency had not received any updates on the number of people or countries affected since the JNS was produced.

USA – Broccoli was named as the source of the Cyclospora outbreak but the country of origin was not determined

Food Safety News

Public health officials have declared that imported broccoli was behind an outbreak from the Cyclospora parasite, but have closed their investigation without determining exactly where the produce came from.

The Food and Drug Administration announced that the outbreak has been determined to be over. The FDA reported that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state and local officials, all concur that the outbreak has ended.

Twenty patients were confirmed as having been infected by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora, but their home states and ages have not been reported.

The outbreak was first reported by the FDA on May 24. The CDC has not posted any information about the outbreak.

Denmark – More sick from Salmonella and Campylobacter in 2022

SSI

Campylobacter was the cause of 5,142 registered cases of illness in Denmark in 2022, and salmonella was the cause of 899 cases. This is an increase for the second year in a row and thus at the same level as before the covid-19 pandemic. This appears from the annual report on the occurrence of zoonoses in Denmark for 2022.