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State and local public health officials interviewed people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of the 16 people interviewed, 10 (63%) reported eating ground beef. Nine sick people reported purchasing the ground beef from ShopRite locations in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. Seven of these people specifically reported purchasing 80% lean ground beef products. Two people reported purchasing ground beef products from ShopRite but could not remember the type of ground beef. Epidemiologic showed that ground beef was the likely source of the outbreak.
Whole genome sequencing (WGS) showed that bacteria from sick people’s samples were closely related genetically. This suggested that people in this outbreak may have gotten sick from the same food.
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A Salmonella outbreak in a Welsh city has been declared over after sickening more than 30 people.
A total of 33 confirmed and one probable case were linked to a pub in Wrexham.
Despite an investigation and testing, the precise source or route of transmission in the Salmonella Infantis outbreak was not identified.
In late July, an Outbreak Control Team (OCT) was established including Public Health Wales, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and Wrexham County Borough Council’s environmental health team.
No details on the age range or gender of patients were released to protect their identity.
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Cases where people have contracted listeria infection are investigated by the Public Health Authority in collaboration with the regional infection control units and the Swedish Food Agency. The outbreak of listeria can be linked to salmon products from one producer.
A total of 19 people have been reported sick in the outbreak with the same variant of listeria serotype IIa ST37 since autumn 2022, of which 15 cases since the end of May this year (see figure). The cases are aged 63-93, of which 13 are men and six are women. The cases have been reported from 10 different regions. Six of the disease cases have died in close connection with their listeria infection. However, it is often difficult to say what role the listeria infection has as a cause of death because most of the patients affected have severe underlying diseases.
Of the cases for which there is information about what they ate before becoming ill, 14 cases have eaten some type of vacuum-packed salmon (digging/cold-smoked/hot-smoked salmon) from one of two different brands. Both of these brands are produced by the same company and listeria has been detected in both products and environmental samples in the company’s facility. Comparisons of the bacteria’s genetic material in samples from food, plants and human cases show that it is the same variant of listeria, which points to the salmon products being the likely source of infection. The company has increased its sampling and is carrying out further clean-up measures at the facility.
The outbreak is being investigated together with the infection control units and the Swedish Food Agency.
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FDA’s investigation is ongoing. Products may be added to this advisory. Additional recall information is available below.
Illness can occur within a few hours or as long as two to three days after eating contaminated food. More severe forms of listeriosis may take anywhere from three days to three months to develop. Mild symptoms may include a fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. If the more severe form of listeriosis develops, symptoms may include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions.
Ongoing
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A pub in Wrexham has been linked to a huge salmonella outbreak that affected 33 people.Public Health Wales said 33 confirmed cases and one of the probable cases were associated with The Nags Head pub on Mount Street.
Controls were put in place at the Marston’s owned pub following the outbreak at the end of July, to stop any further infections. This included a deep clean of the premises and testing of staff.
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More than 130 people have fallen sick in 11 countries with contaminated chicken meat from Poland suspected as being the source of infection.
An analysis by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) focused on two sub-clusters of Salmonella Enteritidis sequence type (ST) 11 with 134 cases mostly reported between January and August 2023. This Salmonella Enteritidis sequence type is the most frequently detected in Europe.
In one cluster, 97 cases with recent or historical isolates, that were closely related genetically, were reported with 22 cases in Denmark, 19 in France and 12 each in Ireland and the Netherlands. Norway has nine patients, Austria and Belgium both have six, Finland has five, Slovenia has three, Sweden has two, and Germany has one.
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Health officials are investigating an outbreak of E. coli food poisoning among students at the University of Arkansas, with dozens reporting symptoms and five people needing treatment in the hospital.
Among those affected are two 19-year-old sorority members who developed a serious complication that can lead to kidney failure after being infected with the E. coli strain O157:H7. That’s according to Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety lawyer who said he reviewed the patients’ medical records after being contacted by the families.
Posted in Bacterial Toxin, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Toxin, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, STEC, STEC E.coli, Toxin
| Date Posted |
Ref | Pathogen or Cause of Illness |
Product(s) Linked to Illnesses (if any) |
Total Case Count |
Status |
| 8/30/2023 | 1179 | Salmonella Newport |
Not Yet Identified |
8 | Active |
| 8/30/2023 | 1174 | Cryptosporidiums | Not Yet Identified |
11 | Active |
| 8/9/2023 | 1172 | Listeria monocytogenes |
Ice Cream | See Advisory |
Active |
| 7/6/2023 | 1163 | Cyclospora cayetanensis |
Not Yet Identified |
140 | Active |
| 6/14/2023 | 1159 | Cyclospora cayetanensis |
Not Yet Identified |
72 | Active |
| 3/1/2023 | 1143 | Hepatitis A Virus |
Frozen Strawberries |
See Advisory |
Active |
This analysis includes 135 investigations of possible multistate enteric (intestinal) outbreaks during 2021. Some possible outbreaks were excluded from this report because they were determined to be single state or because they were linked to international travel. After investigation, 74 (55%) of these were determined to be multistate outbreaks, and investigators solved 47 (64%) of these outbreaks.
The number of outbreaks increased from 2020 but was lower than the 82 investigated outbreaks in 2019. The number of outbreaks investigated in 2021 was likely lower than that in 2019 due in part to continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on enteric disease outbreak detection and investigation (e.g., decreased resources at local, state, and federal public health agencies, changes in healthcare-seeking behavior, and changed restaurant dining and grocery shopping patterns.) Additionally, changing diagnostic testing practices likely continued to affect enteric disease surveillance and the ability to identify possible outbreaks.
Among the 74 multistate outbreaks, 47 (64%) were solved, meaning a confirmed or suspected source of the outbreak was identified, including 25 (53%) outbreaks with confirmed sources and 22 (47%) with suspected sources. Among the 47 solved outbreaks, 28 (60%) were linked to contaminated foods, and 19 (40%) were linked to animal contact.
Solved multistate outbreaks caused at least 2,047 illnesses. Solved multistate outbreaks linked to contaminated food caused 1,740 illnesses, 496 hospitalizations, and 15 deaths, while multistate outbreaks linked to animal contact caused 1,307 illnesses, 329 hospitalizations, and 3 deaths.
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