Category Archives: Illness

Research – A Nosocomial Outbreak of Invasive Listeriosis in An Italian Hospital: Epidemiological and Genomic Features

Posted on May 31, 2021 by | Leave a comment

MDPI

Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is a widespread opportunistic pathogen that causes the listeriosis foodborne disease. This bacterium has become a common contaminant of handled food, and a relevant public health issue. Here we describe a nosocomial outbreak of listeriosis caused by an ST451 strain of L. monocytogenes involving three cancer and one immunocompromised patients hospitalized in different units from the same hospital during September and October 2020. The epidemiological investigation was conducted using traditional microbiological methodology combined with a whole genome sequencing approach. The source of contamination was identified in the kitchen hospital, where a meat slicer used to prepare patients’ meals was tested positive to the same sequence type (ST) of L. monocytogenes. This is the first report of an outbreak of listeriosis caused by ST451 in Italy. View Full-Text

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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, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, outbreak, Research

USA – San Francisco’s House of Prime Rib Voluntarily Closes for Food Borne Illness Investigation

Posted on May 14, 2021 by | Leave a comment

CBS

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — The Department of Public Health in San Francisco on Thursday confirmed that the House of Prime Rib has voluntarily shut down for an investigation into complaints of alleged food borne illness at the popular restaurant.

The city’s Department of Public Health issued a release Thursday stating it “is aware of ongoing online complaints and alleged food borne illness in relation to the House of Prime Rib on 1906 Van Ness Avenue.”

“The owner agreed to voluntarily close to the public for 24 hours starting today (5/13) so DPH health inspectors can ensure meal preparation and food handling process is being done safely and to code,” the statement read.

The restaurant had been serving take out meals for much of the COVID-19 pandemic, but in March resumed dinner service at the restaurant.

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Posted in Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiology

Singapore – Singaporean agencies probe illnesses; help form food safety hub

Posted on May 3, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Authorities in Singapore have launched an investigation after 15 people fell sick beginning in late March.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said one person was hospitalized but has since been discharged.

Gastroenteritis symptoms started after consuming food prepared by Meetup @ 352 (Kin Hoi) between March 28 and April 15. SFA has suspended operations at the business until further notice.

The agency has also prohibited Kemono Pte from preparing and serving all menu items, including online orders, to Kin Hoi. The former is a business partner of Kin Hoi and provides food preparation and cooking services for Kin Hoi’s online delivery orders in a separate facility from their own business.

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Posted in Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiology

Research – Moving Forward to the Future: A Review of Microbial Food Safety Education in China

Posted on March 10, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Liebert Pub

Millions of foodborne illness cases occur in China annually, causing significant social and economic burdens. Improper food handling has been observed not only among commercial food handlers but also among residential food handlers. It is critical to conduct a comprehensive scoping review of previous efforts to identify food safety knowledge gaps, explore the factors impacting knowledge levels, and synthesize the effectiveness of all types of food safety educational interventions for commercial and residential food handlers in China. This review aims to analyze food safety education studies published over the past 20 years and provide foundations for developing more effective food safety educational interventions in China. A total of 35 studies were included in this review. Most studies reported that Chinese commercial and residential food handlers had insufficient food safety knowledge, especially in the areas of foodborne pathogens and safe food-handling practices. The factors impacting food handlers’ knowledge levels included education level, gender, income level, residency (rural vs. urban), the use of WeMedia, college students’ major, and food safety training experiences. Food handlers in the following demographic groups tend to have lower levels of food safety knowledge: lower education levels, the elderly, males, lower-income levels, rural residents, those who do not use WeMedia, those without food safety training experience, or college students in nonbiology-focused majors. Many food handlers did not always follow recommended food safety practices, such as proper meat handling practices, handwashing practices, and cleaning and sanitation practices. Thirteen studies evaluated the effectiveness of educational interventions, and knowledge increases were reported after all interventions. The findings of this review provide guidance to researchers, educators, and government agencies in their future efforts to develop education programs emphasizing the importance of microbial food-safety content and behavior change regarding food safety and hygiene practices.

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Posted in Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Research, Water Safety

Taiwan – CDC issues Norovirus warning after Taiwan sees surge in cases

Posted on March 4, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Taiwan News

Food Borne Illness - Norovirus -CDC Photo

The health authorities are sounding the alarm over norovirus-induced gastroenteritis, with cases soaring over the past week.

Taiwan recorded over 138,000 cases of diarrhea between Feb. 21 and 27, reflecting an uptick in stomach illnesses following the Lunar New Year. Over the past four weeks, 87 diarrhea clusters have been reported nationwide, and 97 percent of the 58 cases where pathogens were identified pointed to norovirus as the culprit, according to the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Members of the public are urged to improve their hygiene, as the virus is transmitted via the fecal-oral route, which involves contaminated food or water or contact with infected persons.

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Posted in 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 Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Norovirus, outbreak, Virus, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety

South Africa – Tiger Brands outbreak killed young mother, leaving her twin sisters to raise her daughter – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on March 1, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

South African Nthabiseng Zaza liked traveling and gospel music. She liked shoes, especially designer brands like Michael Kors. “She was the life of the party,” Matlhogonolo said, Nthabiseng’s 26-year-old sister.

Nthabiseng was a person who loved family above all else. She always wanted to have kids and was blessed with a daughter, Onthathile, who turns 5 this month. Matlhogonolo Chantell and her twin sister Michell Masego Zaza are raising their sister’s daughter.

Onthathile doesn’t remember much of her mother, who at the age of 35 died from listeriosis in Oct. 2018. Her death was part of a Listeria outbreak in South Africa that was traced to Tiger Brand’s polony — processed deli meat similar to baloney.

However, it wasn’t until 2020 that the family found out what had caused their Nthabiseng’s mysterious illness. They knew only that many people in the country were getting sick.

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Posted in Death, food bourne outbreak, food death, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, listeriosis, microbial contamination, Microbiology, outbreak, Research, south africa

India – 1 dead, 170 hospitalised for suspected food poisoning at Assam CM’s event

Posted on February 4, 2021 by | Leave a comment

Hindustan Times

Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also attended the event, told journalists on Wednesday that he too had suffered from an upset stomach after consuming food at the event.

Over 170 persons have been hospitalised in a case of suspected food poisoning at an event attended by Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal at Karbi Anglong district on Tuesday.

According to media reports, one youth died on Tuesday night after consuming packed food at the ceremonial launch of the first session of the Diphu Medical College Hospital (DMCH). District officials are yet to confirm the exact cause of the death.

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Posted in food death, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Food Poisoning Death, Foodborne Illness, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Poisoning

Research – Evolution of a killer: How African Salmonella made the leap from gut to bloodstream

Posted on December 23, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

kswfoodworld.com

Image CDC

University of Liverpool scientists have exploited the combined power of genomics and epidemiology to understand how a type of Salmonella bacteria evolved to kill hundreds of thousands of immunocompromised people in Africa.

Bloodstream infections caused by a drug-resistant type of Salmonella Typhimurium called ST313 are a major public health concern in Africa, where the disease is endemic and causes ~50,000 deaths each year. What was missing was an understanding of the timing of the major evolutionary events that equipped African Salmonella to cause bloodstream infections in humans.

In a new paper published in Nature Microbiology, a team of researchers from the UK, France and Malawi, sampled two comprehensive collections of Salmonella isolates from African patients with bloodstream infections, spanning 1966 to 2018, to piece together the evolutionary journey of the Salmonella over 50 years of human infections in Africa, including the discovery of a new lineage of antibiotic-susceptible ST313.

The study was led by Professor Jay Hinton at the University of Liverpool, who has been researching Salmonella for more than 30 years and leads the 10,000 Salmonella Genomes Project — a worldwide effort to understand the epidemiology, transmission and virulence of invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonellosis.

Professor Hinton said: “Through a remarkable team effort we have removed some of the mystery about the evolution of African Salmonella. We hope that by learning how these pathogens became able to infect the human bloodstream we will be better prepared to tackle future bacterial epidemics.”

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Posted in Death, food death, Food Illness, Food Microbiology Research, Food Poisoning Death, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Immunosuppressed, Research, Salmonella

South Africa – Father shares how life changed after son’s Listeria infection

Posted on December 15, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

The father of a boy who fell sick during the Listeria outbreak in South Africa in 2017 and 2018 has told how the family is still dealing with the consequences.

James Nsayi is now 5 years old. He was diagnosed with listeriosis during the outbreak and suffers from epilepsy.

The outbreak was linked to ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products and caused at least 1,050 illnesses and 218 deaths. It was traced in March 2018 to an RTE processed meat product called polony made at a factory in Polokwane run by Enterprise Foods, then owned by Tiger Brands. In August this year, Tiger Brands agreed to sell its processed meats division, which includes Enterprise Foods.

Mario Nsayi, James’s father, said before becoming sick the youngster never had a problem with health and was a normal child.

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Posted in Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiology

USA – U.S. among countries sent Brazil nuts contaminated with Salmonella

Posted on August 29, 2020 by | Leave a comment

U.S. among countries sent Brazil nuts contaminated with Salmonella

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Posted in Bacteria, bacterial contamination, Food Hygiene, 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 Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Salmonella