What are the current active food poisoning outbreak investigations that the FDA and USDA are investigating? While there have been several outbreak investigations that have closed, there are still six open investigations on the FDA Outbreak Table, and one, possibly two, investigations on the USDA Table.
Jackson County Public Health is investigating an unusually high number of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) cases. Since August 8, 2021, 16 cases have been reported to Jackson County, and 12 (75%) of these cases have been hospitalized. Age range for cases is from 11 months to 65 years of age, with the median age being 23.5. Majority of the cases are in the teens and twenties. Of the total cases 62.5% are males.
Jackson County Public Health is working with the Oregon Health Authority on this outbreak investigation. “Right now, we do not have a definitive hypothesis on what the source of infection may be. The genome sequencing, performed at the state public health lab, has not matched any other cases in the state or nationally,” states Dr. Jim Shames, Health Officer for Jackson County Public Health. “Therefore, we continue to do in-depth interviews with those that have tested positive to help us identify a possible source of exposure.”
Jackson County Public Health is asking medical providers to be aware of the increases in STEC cases in Jackson County and collect and test stool specimens on patients suspected to have bacterial gastroenteritis. Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (including 0157, HUS, and other serogroups) are reportable infections to local and state public health.
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Two people have died in Finland as investigations into a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) outbreak continue.
The National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has received nine reports of suspected E. coli outbreaks from across Finland from June to August. Seven E. coli O103 outbreaks reported to the agency from municipalities in different parts of the country belong to the same incident.
Updating a previous report, the agency said the start date of the epidemic has been set as the end of July. This is defined based on typing of patient isolates. In THL’s laboratory from July 27 to Aug. 24, there were 57 E. coli O103 cases with the Shiga toxin 1 (stx1) gene recorded. Of these, 40 clustered based on whole genome sequencing (WGS) indicating they could be from the same source.
Women are slightly more affected than men. The median age is 37 years old and the range is 2 to 97 years of age.
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While most outbreaks of foodborne illness peak and recede, one southern Michigan restaurant struggled with an intermittent Salmonella outbreak for more than a decade.
From September 2008 to July 2019, there were 35 primary cases and one secondary case of Salmonella Mbandaka ultimately traced to the restaurant by the local public health department, William Nettleton, MD, medical director of the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department, and colleagues reported in the August 20 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The unusual persistence of the outbreak was due to a complex interplay between the restaurant environment and asymptomatic food workers, Nettleton told MedPage Today.
“It was very challenging to identify the source of the outbreak,” he said in an interview. “Typically with Salmonella or other types of enteropathogens, there’s a foodborne vehicle. People get sick over a period of days to weeks, and once the source is eliminated, people stop getting sick. You get the traditional bell curve.”
“This was different,” he said. “The sporadic incidence made it very challenging.”
The restaurant initially made it on the county health department’s radar in 2012, when the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services sounded an alarm about Salmonella Mbandaka cases occurring intermittently in the county since 2008.
Kalamazoo health officials at the time launched a hypothesis-generating questionnaire, and by 2014 they’d homed their sights on the restaurant in question, after five known cases reported a meal there.
More than two dozen boys were reportedly taken to hospitals in Rockland County, the Catskills and Brooklyn after they apparently suffered food poisoning while returning from a trip to Ukraine.
The boys, all in their upper teens, were nauseous, vomiting and feverish, among other reactions, after landing at an unidentified New York City airport, responders said.
They apparently had been eating tuna sandwiches before their flight and began feeling ill during the journey, according to unconfirmed reports.
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Jackson County Public Health has told NewsWatch 12 that some of the hospitalizations include several children.
“A couple of children are at OHSU are receiving emergency treatment,” said Dr. Jim Shames. “We need citizens to be aware that serious diarrhea or bloody diarrhea should be reported to their health care provider.”
Jackson County Public Health says they are still trying to figure out where the E.coli outbreak is coming from, but right now they do believe the outbreak to be localized in the county.
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According to a report in the news source, El Comercio (computer translated), some 60 people who participated in a celebration of baptism they were treated in wards emergency hospitals in Ambato , Latacunga and Salcedo with symptoms of poisoning food the night of Sunday 22 and dawn on Monday, 23 August 2021.
In a statement from the Zonal Coordination 3 of the Ministry of Health, it is indicated that the attendees were residents of the sectors of Huachi Grande ( Tungurahua ) and Cusubamba ( Cotopaxi ). The patients presented a picture of food poisoning from eating food contaminated with salmonella.
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Two Cyclospora outbreaks in the United States continue to grow, sickening at least 153 people, according to the FDA’s CORE Investigation Outbreak Table. Both investigations are active, but the government has not released any information about the outbreaks, including possible source, patient age range, illness onset dates, or if anyone has been hospitalised.
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CDC and partners are investigating two Salmonella outbreaks linked to Italian-style meats. People in both outbreaks report eating salami, prosciutto, and other meats that can be found in antipasto or charcuterie assortments before getting sick. Investigators are working to identify specific contaminated products and determine if the two outbreaks are linked to the same food source.
CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) are collecting different types of data to investigate two multistate outbreaks of Salmonella infections—one involving Salmonella Typhimurium infections and one with Salmonella Infantis infections.
Epidemiologic data show that the likely sources of both outbreaks are Italian-style meats. Investigators are working to determine specific brands and products that are causing illnesses and whether the outbreaks are linked to the same Italian-style meat brands and products.
As of August 24, 2021, a total of 36 people infected with either Salmonella outbreak strain have been reported. This includes 23 people who are part of the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak and 13 people who are part of the Salmonella Infantis outbreak.
The true number of sick people in the outbreaks is likely much higher than the number reported, and the outbreaks may not be limited to the states with known illnesses. This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Salmonella. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.
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Nearly 200 people across the United Kingdom are part of a Salmonella outbreak linked to pork scratching products.
There have been 179 reported cases of Salmonella Infantis since September 2020, according to the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland.
Public Health England said 56 percent of cases are male, and ages range from 0 to 91 years old with a median of 53. Almost two thirds of those sick have been reported since June 2021.
No deaths are linked to the outbreak but a third of the confirmed cases who completed case interviews have been hospitalized with Salmonella infections.
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