Category Archives: outbreak

Turks and Caicos – 150 Possible Norovirus

Sun

More than 150 persons have been affected with gastroenteritis and sought medical attention in the Turks and Caicos Islands since the end of April 2012, according to health officials investigating the mysterious sickness that has affected about 12 hotels on the island of Providenciales.
 

The officials also reported they recently have discovered one case of norovirus, but they noted that this virus cannot be confirmed as the cause of the current outbreak of diarrhea and vomiting.

China 100 Sick – Braised Chicken

China Daily

SHIJIAZHUANG – Nearly 100 people fell sick due to eating suspected contaminated chicken in North China’s Hebei province, local authorities said Sunday.

A total of 97 people in Quyang county of Baoding city have been hospitalized since Friday. Among them, two people have checked out of the hospital, one is critically ill and the others are in stable condition, officials with the county government said.

A preliminary investigation shows that the illness is caused by a certain braised chicken produced by the local Dalong braised chicken store.

The store has been closed down and the owner of the store is under police control. A further investigation into the incident is underway.

Jensen Farms – Cantelope Listeria Outbreak – Bankrupt

Denver Post 

Jensen Farms, the southeastern Colorado cantaloupe growers who were the source of a deadly listeria outbreak last year, filed for bankruptcy Friday.

Lawsuits from the outbreak, which caused at least 32 deaths and dozens of hospitalizations, are prominent in the filing. Attorneys for Jensen Farms and for wrongful-death plaintiffs welcomed the step.

Jensen Farms did not comment.

Scotland – Three Children Hospitalised E.coli O157

Scotsman

THREE infants were being treated in hospital last night following a suspected E coli 0157 outbreak linked to the baby unit at a nursery school.

NHS Grampian confirmed that infection control specialists at the health authority are investigating two confirmed cases and four suspected cases of potentially deadly E coli O157 infection in children who attend Rose Lodge Nursery School in Aboyne, Royal Deeside.

The baby unit at the nursery school has been closed while investigations continue to identify the source of the bug. The garden in the grounds of the nursery in the heart of the village has also been declared out of bounds to the children but the nursery remains open.

The three children who have been admitted to hospital were all being cared for in the baby unit. There are a total of 40 children at the nursery, which takes children from six weeks up to the age of five.

NHS Grampian stressed yesterday the investigation to pinpoint a possible source for the bug was not focused solely on the nursery and that other potential sources of infection in the predominantly rural area were also being looked at.

Cruise Ship “HMS Holby City”- Norovirus

Mail Online

Scores of passengers on board a luxury cruise liner have had their £2,000 holidays ruined by a sickness outbreak. Around 170 passengers on the Boudicca were hit by the suspected norovirus during its 13-night trip to the Canary Islands. The virus, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea, is highly contagious and those infected were quarantined during the doomed voyage.

The ship, carrying around 828 passengers and 348 crew, was greeted by NHS staff and ambulance crews when it docked in Greenock, Scotland last night.

One passenger told the Daily Mirror: ‘We started calling the ship HMS Holby City.

‘There were two nurses wandering around all the time visiting people, most of them elderly.

‘Half the facilities were shut down and we were even told not to swap quiz sheets to stop the bug spreading.

‘Passengers were offered £150 discounts on their next cruise. We don’t know anyone who accepted.

Scotland – Four Hospital Deaths – Norovirus

BBC News

Four patients being treated for diarrhoea and vomiting at a hospital in the west of Scotland have died.

Two people suffering from the norovirus stomach bug died just before the weekend at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said there had now been another two deaths. The deaths were caused by underlying medical conditions.

Strict infection control measures have been put in place.

Eight wards at the hospital are not admitting new patients because of the bug.

 

US – Oyster Norovirus Outbreak – Area 23

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Area 23, a shellfish harvesting zone off the Louisiana coast roughly equal in size to the city of New Orleans, was closed this week after health officials linked a norovirus outbreak to its oysters.

An investigation into the outbreak that sickened 14 people who ate oysters at a Louisiana restaurant determined that the oysters were tainted before they arrived at the restaurant. Health officials issued a recall of the oysters and the temporary closure of Area 23.

New US Raw Milk Campylobacter Outbreak

Campylobacter Blog

Raw milk, raw skim milk (non-fat), raw cream and raw butter produced by Organic Pastures Dairy of Fresno County is the subject of a statewide recall and quarantine order announced by California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Whiteford. The quarantine order came following the confirmed detection of campylobacter bacteria in raw cream.

Consumers are strongly urged to dispose of any Organic Pastures products of these types remaining in their refrigerators, and retailers are to pull those products immediately from their shelves.

From January through April 30, 2012, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reports that at least 10 people with campylobacter infection were identified throughout California and reported consuming Organic Pastures raw milk prior to illness onset. Their median age is 11.5 years, with six under 18. The age range is nine months to 38 years. They are residents of Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Santa Clara counties. None of the patients have been hospitalised, and there have been no deaths.

Norovirus Outbreak US Oysters – 14 Sick

Washington Post

NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana health officials say they closed a harvesting area and ordered a recall of oysters taken from there since April 26 after 14 people became ill with norovirus. The closure started Tuesday and was expected to last at least three weeks.

The recall includes shucked, frozen, breaded and processed oysters and those for the half-shell market taken from Area 23 in Terrebonne Parish southwest of New Orleans. Some of the oysters were shipped to Maryland, Texas and Georgia.

Health officials said people became ill after eating oysters from that area at one New Orleans-area restaurant.

Pet Food Recall – Salmonella and How People get Sick from Pet Food

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Apex Pet Foods is recalling all of their dry dog food formulas manufactured on January 24, 2012 for possible Salmonella contamination.

How People Get Sick – FPB

Tainted dog food is the source of a Salmonella Infantis outbreak that has sickened 14 people in nine states, five with infections so severe they required hospitalisation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Over the last week, Diamond Pet Foods has recalled nine brands of dog food due to possible contamination with Salmonella. And five other brands: Natural Balance, Kirkland Signature, Wellpet Solid Gold Health Products, and Apex, have issued related recalls.

So, how does dog food make people sick? Follow the link to fins out.