Category Archives: outbreak

US – Tuna Sushi – Salmonella Outbreak Expands – Virginia/Baltimore

Posted on April 7, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin – Virginia 

Five Virginians are among the 100 victims of a Salmonella outbreak that is spreading through 19 states and the District of Columbia.

The case patients in Virginia are between the ages of 20 and 59 and are from the central and northwest part of the state, Michelle Stoll, a public information officer for the Virginia Department of Health, told Food Poisoning Bulletin today. None of the patients has required hospitalisation.

All 100 patients have been sickened by a rare strain of Salmonella called Salmonella Bareilly. Salmonella poisoning can be serious and sometimes life-threatening, according to the CDC. Health officials urge anyone with symptoms including abdominal cramping, fever, nausea,vomiting, and bloody diarrhoea.

Food Poisoning Bulletin – Baltimore

At least 10 Maryland residents are among the 100 people who have been sickened by a Salmonella outbreak that has swept through 19 states and the District of Columbia.

A definite source of the outbreak has still not been identified, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but sushi, sashimi and other raw fish dishes are among potential sources being investigated

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

America’s 10 Deadliest Outbreaks Revised

Posted on April 5, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

The list of the 10 most deadly outbreaks of food- and waterborne illness in U.S. history, previously published by Food Safety News, has been revised for a presentation in Sacramento to the California Environmental Health Association.
 
Added to the list is a 1903 outbreak of typhoid fever in Ithaca, NY, which caused 82 deaths, among them 29 Cornell University students. 
 
The addition of the Ithaca typhoid fever outbreak to the most-deadly ranks drops from the list the 2006 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak involving bagged spinach grown at Paicines Ranch in San Benito County, California.  There were five fatalities in that outbreak, in which about 200 people became ill after eating bagged spinach.
 
The only other revision in the list involves the 1919 botulism outbreak caused by canned ripe olives, previously reported as being responsible for killing 15. The death toll was actually 19.
 
With the revisions, the nation’s deadliest foodborne outbreaks have taken the lives of 423 people, with 232 of those succumbing to typhoid fever. The other deaths were due to Listeria (93), Streptococcus (70), botulism (19) and Salmonella Typhimurium (9).
 

 

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Posted in Bacteria, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

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US – Salmonella Bareilly Outbreak – Spicy Tuna Sushi

Posted on April 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

MarlerClark

Sushi is the likely source of a Salmonella outbreak, with spicy tuna roll sushi closely associated with Salmonella illnesses.

A Salmonella serotype Bareilly outbreak has caused at least 90 cases of Salmonella in residents of 19 states and the District of Columbia.  At least 7 people have been hospitalised.

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

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Australia – Northern Territories – Increase in Cryptosporidium

Posted on April 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

AFN 

A notable rise in the number of cases of the stomach bug Cryptosporidium in the Northern Territory has prompted the Government of the Northern Territory to urge Territorians to practice good hygiene and food safety practices.

“Cryptosporidiosis, or “crypto”, is a disease caused by the parasite Cryptosporidium parvum. It can be spread by ingesting food or water that has been contaminated by people infected by the parasite.

According to the Northern Territory Government, 114 cases have been reported so far this year.

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Posted in Cryptosporidium, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Parasite, Pathogen, Water

NZ – Legionnaires Outbreak in Auckland

Posted on April 3, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Stuff.CO.NZ 

About 300 Auckland buildings may be affected by a major outbreak of the potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease. The outbreak has prompted urgent calls for building owners, mostly within the CBD, to overhaul mechanical ventilation systems that include cooling towers. In the last six weeks, nine cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been recorded in the region. A typical six-week period would see one or two cases notified.

The disease is a form of pneumonia that can be life-threatening for some. The condition of the nine people with the disease is not known

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Legionella, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen

Norovirus Epidemiology Review

Posted on March 31, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Cambridge Journals Online 

Food Safety Review

Norovirus – a bug that causes gastrointestinal illness – is responsible for 12 percent of all diarrheal disease worldwide and is estimated to cause 218,000 deaths among children under 5 each year. 
 
Now a clearer picture of how this virus spreads and where it originates is being drawn by a review published this week in Epidemiology & Infection.
 
Norovirus is derived from fecal matter, and can infect people via 4 routes: contaminated water, contaminated food, contaminated environmental surfaces or contact with an infected person. 
 
Researchers from Emory University and the University of Michigan looked at 902 Norovirus (NoV) outbreaks documented between 1993 and 2011, finding that most were associated with transmission through food or in a food service setting.
 
 

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Norovirus, outbreak, Pathogen, Research

US – 30 at College Hit with Norovirus Illness

Posted on March 29, 2012 by | Leave a comment

lohud.com

Dozens of students at Corcordia College are recovering from a stomach virus that swept the campus over the weekend and sent a few people to the hospital.

Some students suspect it was the Norovirus — a fast-spreading foodborne disease that causes diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pains — but there is no official finding, college officials said.

It was first reported on the 800-student campus Friday. Within a couple of days, 30 students contracted the virus and four wound up in Lawrence Hospital Center in Bronxville.

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Posted in Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Norovirus, outbreak, Pathogen

US – Recall – Salmonella – Salsa

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin 

Kroger Company is recalling store brand salsa and pico de gallo because they may be contaminated with Salmonella. This recall may be related to the recall of fresh jalapenos by Castellini Produce earlier in the month

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella

Canada – Salmonella Found in Caterers Products

Posted on March 26, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin 

According to CBC News, Salmonella was found in ground beef and Halal chicken samples from The Lunch Lady Catering service in Ottawa, Canada.

This links the caterer to the Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 50 people. One dozen schools and a day care center have been the epicenter of the outbreak.

Salmonella Typhimurium was found in frozen uncooked ground beef, and Salmonella Heidelberg was found in raw Halal chicken.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall

US – Update – E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak

Posted on March 24, 2012 by | Leave a comment

BM Blog

The CDC reports as of March 21, 2012, 58 persons infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 were reported from 9 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state was as follows: Arizona (1), Arkansas (2), Illinois (9), Indiana (2), Kansas (2), Kentucky (1), Minnesota (2), Missouri (38), and Nebraska (1). Two cases were removed from the case count because advanced molecular testing determined that they were not related to this outbreak strain. Among persons for whom information was available, illnesses began from October 9, 2011 to November 7, 2011. Ill persons ranged in age from 1 to 94 years, with a median age of 28 years. Fifty-nine percent were female. Among the 49 ill persons with available information, 33 (67%) were hospitalized, and 3 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). No deaths were reported

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Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall, STEC

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