shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (O104, stx1- stx2+ eae- /25g) in chilled vacuum-packed beef meat from France in Italy
shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in raw goat’s milk cheese from France in Germany
shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (O 103; stx +, eae + /25g) in minced beef from Belgium in Belgium
Posted in Bacteria, bacterial contamination, Bacterial Toxin, Biotoxin, E.coli, E.coli O103, E.coli O104, eae, food 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 Testing, Food Toxin, microbial contamination, Microbiology, O103, Pathogen, pathogenic, Poisoning, RASFF, STEC, STEC E.coli, STX 1, STX 2
While many pathogens cause serious diarrhea in children in developing countries, four stand out as culprits in most of the infections, a finding that could drive new prevention strategies, an international research team reported today.
The group spent 3 years in seven developing countries, collecting health information, lab samples, and outcome data on 3,439 youngsters who had moderate-to-severe diarrhea. They published their findings today in an early online release from The Lancet.
On a global scale each year, diarrheal diseases kill about 800,000 children under age 5, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, according to the report.
Though interventions such as rotavirus vaccines are starting to have an impact on deaths and disease incidence, scientific data to guide other strategies to curb the diseases are scarce, especially in regions where child deaths are the highest, the group wrote.
To fill the gap, the team focused their analysis on kids under age 5 who did and didn’t have moderate-to-severe diarrhea in selected cities in Bangladesh, Gambia, India, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, and Pakistan. The study included 13,129 matched controls.
The researchers collected clinical and epidemiologic information, took anthropometric measurements, and took fecal samples to identify pathogens. For each child they made a follow-up home visit 60 days later to assess health status, clinical outcome, and growth measures.
Four pathogens were the most common causes of diarrhea across all sites: rotavirus, Cryptosporidium, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) producing heat-stable toxin (ST), and Shigella, according to the study.
Posted in Bacteria, Cryptosporidium, E.coli, E.coli O103, E.coli O104, E.coli O121, E.coli O145, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Safety, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, Hand Washing, Hygiene, Illness, Microbiology, O103, Pathogen, Research, Shigella, STEC
EFSA’s scientific experts say that it is currently not possible to identify which VTEC bacteria strains have the potential to cause human diseases. In order to help risk managers to identify human health risks, EFSA has proposed a scheme to categorise VTEC strains according to their potential to cause disease. This work has been carried out in response to a request of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health.
VTEC (verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli) is a group of pathogenic E. coli bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhoea and haemolytic uremic syndrome in humans, a serious condition that can lead to kidney failure and be fatal [1].
EFSA’s Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) has evaluated data from the EU on different VTEC strains with respect to their reported frequency, severity of human disease caused by the strains, and association with outbreaks. The Panel concluded that it is currently not possible to fully predict the potential of a VTEC strain found in food to cause human disease.
However the Panel has provided guidance to assist public health authorities in assessing risks related to VTEC strains. They proposed a scheme that considers the detection of specific genes in VTEC strains from humans, food and animals. EFSA will regularly review this scheme to improve future risk assessments.
Due to under-reporting of human cases and the unavailability of complete information, EFSA’s scientific experts also recommended that all Member States collect comprehensive data on VTEC strains when these are detected. Accurate reporting will help in predicting the factors responsible for the severity of human infections and outbreaks.
To carry out this evaluation, the Panel used data from the European Surveillance System (TESSy data) provided by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and from the EU Summary Report on Trends and Sources of Zoonoses, Zoonotic Agents and Food-borne Outbreaks in 2011published today as well as data from relevant scientific literature.
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O103, E.coli O104, E.coli O121, E.coli O145, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, EFSA, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology, O103, Pathogen, Research, STEC, VTECH
Tagged austrian federal ministry, e coli bacteria, human health risks, public health authorities
This is a very interesting article in Food Safety News which I think would be of interest to Food Microbiologists and the Produce industry alike. the link will take you to the full article
Leafy greens, lettuce, cantaloupes, mangoes and strawberries. These are just some of the foods that have sickened or even killed people when they were contaminated with foodborne pathogens such as E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella.
Amidst the confusing swirl of information about these and other produce outbreaks, the question arises: Were some of these pathogens inside the produce? Could it be — in some cases, anyway — that the plant’s roots sucked the pathogens up out of the soil and transferred them through the plant into its edible parts?
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O103, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, Hepatitis A, Hygiene, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, O103, Research, Salmonella
Tagged food microbiologists, food safety news, leafy greens, science
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has become aware of several cases of diarrheal illness from northwest Missouri, possibly caused by Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC), including one confirmed as E. coli O103. These may be related to the consumption of locally-produced, raw (unpasteurized) dairy products.
DHSS recommends that any person who has signs or symptoms of STEC infection seek medical care. Health care providers should evaluate patients adequately to determine if testing for STEC infection is warranted.
Symptoms of STEC infection include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (which is often bloody), and vomiting. If there is fever, it usually is not very high. Most patients’ symptoms improve within 5–7 days, but some patients go on to develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), usually about a week after the diarrhea starts. The classic triad of findings in HUS are acute renal damage, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, and thrombocytopenia.
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O103, EHEC, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Microbiology, O103, outbreak, Pathogen
Tagged health, hemolytic uremic syndrome, missouri department of health and senior services, severe stomach cramps, unpasteurized dairy products
FoodWorld 