Category Archives: foodborne outbreak

Finalnd – Finnish Salmonella outbreak sickens more than 50 people

Posted on September 6, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

The number of people in a Salmonella outbreak in Finland has doubled to more than 50, according to public health officials.

In July, 27 people in different parts of Finland were reported to have fallen ill with Salmonella Mbandaka infections. As of early September, 54 people have been sickened in the outbreak.

Patients fell sick between April and August and 31 of them are women. Their average age is 29 and the range is under 1 to 74 years old.

Four people were hospitalized because of their infections and only one patient had traveled abroad before becoming ill, said the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

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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 Safety Management, Food Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Salmonella, Salmonella in Chicken

India – 20 students fall ill due to suspected food poisoning

Posted on September 5, 2022 by | Leave a comment

The Hindu

As many as 20 students of Social Welfare Residential school located at Dubbak in Siddipet district fell ill on Friday, due to suspected food poisoning.

The students complained about stomach pain and symptoms of fever, according to sources.

District Medical and Health Officer (DM&HO) Kashinath along with medical teams rushed to the hostel and was treating the students.

The students told the treating doctors that they have developed these health issues after consuming Payasam the day before yesterday, the DM&HO said that there might be some other reasons, including water contamination, but they could not confirm it till medical tests were completed.

There are some 400 students studying in the school and according to locals some of the students have been suffering with seasonal fevers. Some students have complained that they have been not receiving proper food despite repeated appeals.

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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 Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Poisoning

USA – Domestically Acquired Cases of Cyclosporiasis — United States, May–August 2022

Posted on September 2, 2022 by | Leave a comment

CDC

LAST UPDATED AUGUST 25, 2022 4:00 PM EDT

Cyclosporiasis illnesses are reported year-round in the United States. However, during the spring and summer months there is often an increase in cyclosporiasis acquired in the United States (i.e., “domestically acquired”). The exact timing and duration of these seasonal increases in domestically acquired cyclosporiasis can vary, but reports tend to increase starting in May. In previous years the reported number of cases peaked between June and July, although activity can last as late as September. The overall health impact (e.g., number of infections or hospitalizations) and the number of identified clusters of cases (i.e., cases that can be linked to a common exposure) also vary from season to season. Previous U.S. outbreaks of cyclosporiasis have been linked to various types of fresh produce, including basil, cilantro, mesclun lettuce, raspberries, and snow peas.

At a Glance
  • Illnesses: 800
  • Hospitalizations: 52
  • Deaths: 0
  • States reporting cases: 30

CDC, along with state and federal health and regulatory officials, monitor cases of cyclosporiasis in the United States in the spring and summer months to detect outbreaks linked to a common food source. However, many cases of cyclosporiasis cannot be directly linked to an outbreak, in part because of the lack of validated laboratory “fingerprinting” methods needed to link cases of Cyclospora infection. Officials use questionnaires to interview sick people to determine what they ate in the 14-day period before illness onset. If a commonality is found, CDC and partners work quickly to determine if a contaminated food product is still available in stores or in peoples’ homes and issue advisories.

Latest Information

  • The number of reported cases of domestically acquired cyclosporiasis illnesses has increased by 416 cases since the last update on July 28, 2022. Cases continue to be reported.
  • As of August 23, 2022, 800 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis in people who had no history of international travel during the 14-day period before illness onset have been reported to CDC by 31 jurisdictions, including 30 states and New York City, since May 1, 2022.
    • The median illness onset date is June 29, 2022 (range: May 3, 2022–August 12, 2022).
    • At least 52 people have been hospitalized; 0 deaths have been reported.

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Posted in Cyclospora, Cyclosporiasis, 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 Safety Management, food safety training, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, outbreak

Research – First Description of a Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Clonal Outbreak in France, Confirmed Using a New Core Genome Multilocus Sequence Typing Method

Posted on September 2, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Sante Publique

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is an enteric pathogen causing mild enteritis that can lead to mesenteric adenitis in children and septicemia in elderly patients. Most cases are sporadic, but outbreaks have already been described in different countries. We report for the first time a Y. pseudotuberculosis clonal outbreak in France, that occurred in 2020. An epidemiological investigation based on food queries pointed toward the consumption of tomatoes as the suspected source of infection. The Yersinia National Reference Laboratory (YNRL) developed a new cgMLST scheme with 1,921 genes specific to Y. pseudotuberculosis that identified the clustering of isolates associated with the outbreak and allowed to perform molecular typing in real time. In addition, this method allowed to retrospectively identify isolates belonging to this cluster from earlier in 2020. This method, which does not require specific bioinformatic skills, is now used systematically at the YNRL and proves to display an excellent discriminatory power and is available to the scientific community. IMPORTANCE We describe in here a novel core-genome MLST method that allowed to identify in real time, and for the first time in France, a Y. pseudotuberculosis clonal outbreak that took place during the summer 2020 in Corsica. Our method allows to support epidemiological and microbiological investigations to establish a link between patients infected with closely associated Y. pseudotuberculosis isolates, and to identify the potential source of infection. In addition, we made this method available for the scientific community.

Auteur : Savin Cyril, Le Guern Anne-Sophie, Chereau Fanny, Guglielmini Julien, Heuzé Guillaume, Demeure Christian, Pizarro-Cerdá Javier
Microbiology spectrum, 2022, p. e0114522

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USA – More people sick as outbreak linked to Wendy’s spreads to 2 more states

Posted on September 2, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Facts About Wendy's That Might Surprise You

Another 13 people have been confirmed sick in an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to lettuce on sandwiches from Wendy’s restaurants. Two states have been added to the outbreak.

Half of the 97 outbreak patients have been so sick that they had to be admitted to hospitals. Of the 43 hospitalized people, 10 have developed a kind of kidney failure known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among the 67 people with detailed food histories, 81 percent reported eating at Wendy’s restaurants. Of 54 people with further information about what they ate at Wendy’s, 37 reported eating romaine lettuce served on burgers and other sandwiches.

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, STEC, STEC E.coli

RASFF Alert – Staphylococcal Toxin Outbreak – Canned Mushrooms

Posted on September 2, 2022 by | Leave a comment

RASFF

Staphylococcal toxin outbreak due to consumption of canned mushrooms (boletus edulis) from Spain

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Posted in Bacterial Toxin, 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 Safety Management, Food Testing, Food Toxin, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Poisoning, RASFF, Staphylococcus aureus, Toxin

RASFF Alert – Food Poisoning – Raw Oysters

Posted on September 2, 2022 by | Leave a comment

RASFF

Food poisoning after eating oysters from France in Germany, Belgium, Finland and Netherlands

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Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Poisoning, RASFF, raw oysters

FDA – Core Outbreak Table – Investigations of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

Posted on September 1, 2022 by | Leave a comment

FDA

What’s New

  • An outbreak of Salmonella Mississippi (ref# 1097) in a not yet identified product has been added to the table and FDA has initiated traceback.
  • For the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak (ref# 1081) in a not yet identified food, sample collection and analysis have been initiated.
  • For the Salmonella Senftenberg outbreak (ref# 1087) in a not yet identified food, the case count has increased from 22 to 25 cases.
  • For the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak (ref# 1095) in a not yet identified food, the case count has increased from 62 to 73 cases, an on-site inspection and sample collection and analysis has been initiated.
  • For the Cyclospora outbreak (ref# 1080) the case count has increased from 70 to 75.
  • For the Cyclospora outbreak (ref# 1084), the case count has increased from 41 to 42.
  • For the Salmonella Braenderup outbreak (ref# 1075), the case count increased from 74 to 75.
  • For the outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes (ref# 1057) linked to ice cream, FDA initiated an on-site inspection.

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Posted in Cyclospora, Cyclosporiasis, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, FDA, food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Salmonella

Research – Scientists blame Listeria’s low priority for regulatory support as the likely true cause for a low-burn listeria outbreak

Posted on September 1, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Government prosecutors wrapped conspiracy and fraud around the head of the former president of Blue Bell ice cream, but a hung jury did not buy it. That Texas jury was 10-to-2 in favor of acquittal.

But how then should be explained the illnesses and deaths associated with the 2015 listeriosis outbreak. Does science explain less human responsibility?

Nineteen expert researchers worked on that question, and they’ve produced a 22-page research paper with their answers. They point to an event beginning long before Blue Bell Creameries knew Listeria contamination was a threat.

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Almost 50 sick in Scotland in an outbreak from E. coli O157

Posted on September 1, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Nearly 50 people are part of an outbreak of E. coli infections in Scotland, which has closed five nurseries.

E. coli has been confirmed in three nurseries, while another two are shut as investigations and testing are carried out.

A total of 47 cases have been confirmed. Officials previously said E. coli O157 had sickened a number of young people in the East Lothian area. Some patients were hospitalized but most people had mild symptoms and did not require hospital treatment.

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