Category Archives: outbreak

USA – Las Vegas Firefly Restaurant Salmonella Outbreak – 200 Cases – 20 States – UK and Canada

Posted on May 13, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poison JournalSalmonella

According to a report just released by the Southern Nevada Health Department, as of May 5, 2013 at least 196 patrons and 4 employees of Firefly who consumed food and/or drinks at Firefly restaurant during April 21-26, 2013 have been determined to be confirmed or probable cases of Salmonella infection.  From various surveillance data sources, reports of illness from restaurant patrons who normally reside in twenty states:

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington and two foreign countries (Canada, United Kingdom).

Illness onset dates occurred within the April 22 to May 1, 2013 time frame.  The onset date with the peak number of ill restaurant patrons was April 24, 2013. Because the incubation period for Salmonella is usually 12-36 hours, this might suggest that patrons who ate at Firefly on April 22-23, 2013 had the highest risk of exposure to the pathogen.

According to some there is a call to name this species as Salmonella Firefly – after the restaurant.

Serotyping of the isolates indicated that the outbreak strain was Salmonella (assigned with the antigenic code “I:4,5,12:i:-”.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella

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USA – Live Chick Salmonella Outbreak Continues

Posted on May 13, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News104px-More_chicks

Two separate outbreaks linked to live baby poultry are sickening people across the country, according to two announcements from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, outbreak, Pet Food, Research

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USA – E.coli O121 Outbreaks Expands

Posted on May 13, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning BulletinEcoli Istock

The E. coli O121 outbreak linked to Farm Rich brand frozen food products has grown again to include 35 people in 19 states. Nine people have been hospitalized in this outbreak, and no deaths have been reported. Two patients have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The outbreak has grown from 32 people since the last update in late April.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O121, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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USA – Update Salmonella – Cucumber Outbreak

Posted on May 11, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety Newscucumber

An outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul linked to imported cucumbers has sickened at least 81 people in 18 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That’s up from the 78 illnesses CDC reported April 25. The number of patients hospitalized as a result of their infections has risen from 14 to 16 since that time.

The updated number of victims, by state, is as follows: Arizona (11), California (28), Colorado (1), Idaho (2), Illinois (3), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Maryland (1), Minnesota (9), Nevada (1), New Mexico (2), North Carolina (3), Ohio (3), Oregon (2), South Dakota (2), Texas (6), Virginia (3) and Wisconsin (2).

The first outbreak victim fell ill on January 12 of this year, and the latest known illness onset was April 19. However, health officials note that illnesses with an onset date of April 7 or later may not have been reported yet.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella

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USA – Texas E.coli O157:H7 Outbreak

Posted on May 11, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Health investigators in Texas’ Brazos County are looking into eight possible infections of E. coli O157:H7 they suspect may be linked to food.

The Brazos County Health Department has confirmed five of the illnesses, and investigators believe another three patients are infected with the same strain of bacteria.

Two related children under the age of five have been hospitalized at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston for the past week, The Eagle reports. The other six cases are adults and were not hospitalized.

Investigators are still searching for a possible outbreak source, saying that the patients did not eat at the same restaurant.

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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W.H.O – Report on Campylobacter

Posted on May 7, 2013 by | Leave a comment

WHOCampylobacter

On 9–11 July 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), convened an Expert Consultation on The Global View of Campylobacteriosis, in Utrecht, Netherlands.

The objectives of the Consultation were:

To review the progress made in the past 10 years in understanding and controlling Campylobacteriosis, take note of successful approaches and lessons learned, and identify challenges in controlling Campylobacter from farm to table and in reducing the human health burden and attributable health consequences;

To consider cross-cutting areas, such as food- and waterborne Campylobacteriosis and antimicrobial resistance, taking into account the context of both high-income countries and low- and middleincome countries (LMIC);

To suggest how WHO, FAO and OIE could take action to reduce Campylobacter in the food chain and the burden of foodborne Campylobacteriosis.

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Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Foodborne Illness, outbreak, Pathogen, Poisoning, Research

USA – Salmonella Sickens 80 – Las Vegas Restaurant

Posted on May 3, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning BulletinSalmonella

The Southern Nevada Health District is investigating a Salmonella outbreak associated with Firefly Tapas Restaurant and Bar at 3900 Paradise Road in Las Vegas. Public health officials believe more than 80 people have been sickened in this outbreak. The health department closed Firefly on April 26, 2013 after reports of illness began coming into the office.

The health department has identified the cause of the outbreak as Salmonella. The symptoms of salmonellosis, the illness associated with a Salmonella infection, include diarrhea, which can be bloody, fever, abdominal cramps, headache, loss of appetite, nausea, and sometimes vomiting. People usually get sick 6 to 72 hours after infection. Investigators do not know what food is the source of the outbreak.

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella

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Research – Foodborne Illness Outbreaks from Microbial Contaminants in Spices, 1973-2010

Posted on May 1, 2013 by | 2 comments

Science Direct

This review identified fourteen reported illness outbreaks attributed to consumption of pathogen-contaminated spice during the period 1973-2010. Countries reporting outbreaks included Canada, Denmark, England and Wales, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Serbia, and the United States. Together, these outbreaks resulted in 1946 reported human illnesses, 128 hospitalizations and two deaths. Infants/children were the primary population segments impacted by 36% (5/14) of spice-attributed outbreaks. Four outbreaks were associated with multiple organisms. Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica was identified as the causative agent in 71% (10/14) of outbreaks, accounting for 87% of reported illnesses. Bacillus spp. was identified as the causative agent in 29% (4/10) of outbreaks, accounting for 13% of illnesses. 71% (10/14) of outbreaks were associated with spices classified as fruits or seeds of the source plant. Consumption of ready-to-eat foods prepared with spices applied after the final food manufacturing pathogen reduction step accounted for 70% of illnesses. Pathogen growth in spiced food is suspected to have played a role in some outbreaks, but it was not likely a contributing factor in three of the larger Salmonella outbreaks, which involved low-moisture foods. Root causes of spice contamination included contributions from both early and late stages of the farm-to-table continuum.

 

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Posted in Bacillus, Bacillus cereus, Bacteria, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Research, Salmonella

USA – Extended E.coli O121 Outbreak – Farm Rich Products

Posted on April 29, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety NewsE.coli O157

Five more victims in four states were added Friday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to the list of confirmed cases in the rare Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O121 outbreak associated with Farm Rich brand products.

The additional victims—one each in California, Colorado, and Ohio and two in Florida—bring the total number of individuals infected with the outbreak strain of E coli O121 (STEC O121) to 32.

CDC says 35 percent of the victims have required hospitalization and two developed the kidney-damaging hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). No deaths have been reported among the mostly young (81 percent are age 21 or under) victims.

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Posted in CDC, E.coli, E.coli O121, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Methods, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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Europe – Norovirus Ongoing Outbreak in Frozen Berries Report -Hepatitis A

Posted on April 26, 2013 by | Leave a comment

EurosurvaillanceClose up 3d render of an influenza-like virus isolated on white

A food-borne outbreak of hepatitis A in Denmark was notified to other countries on 1 March 2013. A case–control study identified frozen berries eaten in smoothies as potential vehicle. In the following weeks, Finland, Norway and Sweden also identified an increased number of hepatitis A patients without travel history. Most cases reported having eaten frozen berries at the time of exposure. By 17 April, 71 cases were notified in the four countries. No specific type of berry, brand or origin of berries has yet been identified.

As of 17 April 2013, 36 cases, of whom 15 were confirmed, have been identified in Finland, Norway and Sweden, giving a total of 71 cases in the four countries (Table 1). Finland and Norway have reported confirmed cases with sequence 1 and 2. In Sweden, two of the eight confirmed cases have an HAV IB sequence with 2% difference to sequence 1 and 1% difference to sequence 2 (called sequence 3).
The overall median age for cases and the median age for confirmed cases is 25 years (range: 3–78 years); 43 cases are female. In Norway and Sweden (but not Finland), more women are affected than men. The distribution of cases by month and HAV sequence type is shown in Figure 1. As of 17 April 2013, Sweden is the only country with cases with symptom onset in April. An increased number of travel-related hepatitis A patients in the same time period (Table 1) may be explained in part by patients infected in Egypt [1].

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Technology, Food Testing, Food Virus, Hepatitis A, Hygiene, Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Research, Virus

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