The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is aware of seven confirmed and one possible case of Legionnaires’ disease in people who have stayed or visited Blanes in Costa Brava. Cases are from Spain, the Netherlands and Latvia. The age range of the patients, who are all recovering, is from 48 to 82 years. There are no UK cases associated with this outbreak.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is investigating a string of E. coli cases among visitors to a West Midlands park.
Seven people have been infected by the 0157 strain of E. coli at Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield over July and August.
Five of the cases involved children under eight years old, the HPA said. All patients have since recovered.
Posters and leaflets have been issued, but the HPA said parents may want to use other parks for the time being.
Dr Roger Gajraj, a consultant with the HPA’s West Midlands East Health Protection Unit (HPU) said: “E. coli O157 can be very serious in young children and can in some instances cause kidney failure.”
The HPA said E. coli O157 was often associated with contact with animals and rural areas that may have been contaminated by animal faeces.
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, HPA, Hygiene, Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen
Federal health officials say ricotta cheese tainted with listeria bacteria is linked to 14 illnesses including at least one death.
The imported Italian ricotta salata cheese distributed by Forever Cheese Inc. of New York is linked to illnesses in 11 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Forever Cheese issued a recall of one lot — 800 wheels of ricotta salata, or roughly 4,800 pounds — on Monday.
The cheese was distributed to retail stores and restaurants in California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington between June 20 and Aug. 9.
It was not immediately clear how many deaths were caused by the listeria outbreak. The CDC said listeriosis contributed to “at least one” of two deaths in New York and Nebraska but did not elaborate. A spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said Wednesday the department was investigating a death linked to the listeria and a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Health said the same strain had contributed to the death of a woman in her 80s.
A third deceased person in Minnesota was infected with listeriosis linked to the cheese but that was not thought to be the primary cause of the person’s death, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health said.
Three people from Maryland reported becoming ill from the strain of listeria linked to the ricotta. One person each from California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia also reported an illness. Two of the illnesses were in newborn babies, the CDC said.
Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Listeria, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall
Tagged department of health and mental hygiene, food, ricotta salata cheese
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) has issued an investigation update on the Norovirus outbreak on the Dawn Princess cruise ship. The ship of part of the Princess Cruises cruise line.
Voyage dates were August 21 to September 13, 2012. The number of passengers on the ship is 1,778, and crew members is 851. The passengers who reported being ill numbered 114, or 6.41%, and the number of crew who reported being ill numbered 11, or 1.29%. The symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea are consistent with Norovirus infection
The number of people sickened by Salmonella traced to chicks and ducklings from an Ohio mail order hatchery has risen from 123 to 163, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
AN OUTBREAK of the dangerous stomach bug E.Coli has sparked a health alert and prompted a children’s nursery in Basingstoke to temporarily close its doors.
Kiddi Caru, in Broadmere Road, Beggarwood, suspended its child care last Thursday night.
The Health Protection Agency said two children have contracted the illness and a third is suspected of having it, but all three children are recovering. None of them is in hospital.
Two people have contracted a potentially deadly strain of E.coli and are being treated in hospital.
Five cases of the infection are being investigated but only two people have the O157 strain, said NHS Orkney.
The cases are not linked, according to the health board.
Vibrio bacteria have closed three commercial growing areas and caused 30 confirmed illnesses in Washington this summer, according to the state Department of Health. Totten Inlet near Olympia, North Bay and Dabob Bay in north Hood Canal are closed for the rest of the summer due to these bacteria, which are common in warm weather conditions. Once water temperatures begin to cool in October, these growing areas will reopen.
People get vibriosis from eating raw or undercooked oysters that have Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria in them. Cooking shellfish until the shells just open is not enough to kill Vibrio bacteria. Shellfish should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F for at least 15 seconds. Don’t rinse cooked oysters in seawater, which can re-contaminate them.
Vibriosis symptoms include diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, headache, fever, and chills. Symptoms usually appear 12-24 hours after eating infected shellfish, and can last two to seven days. Vibriosis can be life-threatening for people with low immunity or chronic liver disease. Also at greater risk are people who take antacids, heart or diabetes medication, or who’ve had antibiotic or cancer treatments recently.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local officials are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections. The investigation is in the early stages. We are moving quickly to learn as much as possible and prevent additional people from becoming ill. We recognize that people will be concerned about this outbreak, and we will continue to provide updates and advice.
A total of 141 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 20 states.
The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (7), Arkansas (3), California (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (17), Indiana (13), Iowa (7), Kentucky (50), Michigan (6), Minnesota (3), Missouri (9), Mississippi (2), New Jersey (1), North Carolina (3), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (1), and Wisconsin (2).
31 persons have been hospitalized, and two deaths have been reported in Kentucky.
In the course of their investigation, state officials in Kentucky and Indiana found evidence that they believe indicate cantaloupes grown in southwestern Indiana may be a source of the ongoing Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak. FDA officials are actively investigating potential sources of the outbreak, and will continue to update the public as more specific information becomes available.
Sapporo, Japan news services report that four people, including a 4-year-old girl, have been confirmed dead of food poisoning from pickled Chinese cabbage produced by a Sapporo food company. Another two are suspected to have died due to the cabbage.
According to the city health care center, four people have died because of the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria after eating pickled Chinese cabbage produced in late July by Iwai Shokuhin. Three of the four victims were women in their 80s and 100s living in elderly care facilities in the city.
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