Category Archives: outbreak

USA – Health officials confirm an outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to Boston Restaurants

Posted on May 26, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Laboratory testing has shown that dozens of people have Salmonella infections linked to two Mexican restaurants in Boston.

There are now 45 confirmed patients, up from 33 earlier this week, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Patients report eating at Los Amigos Mexican Grill taquerias in Brighton Center and West Roxbury. Of the 45 confirmed patients, 29 are from Boston. Additional illnesses have been reported but have not yet been confirmed with lab tests.

The two restaurants have been closed by authorities who have cited health code violations. The Los Amigos Mexican Grill taquerias in Brighton Center and West Roxbury have also had their permits to operate temporarily suspended.

Leave a comment

Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Salmonella

USA – Norovirus outbreak linked to California restaurant sickens nearly 100

Posted on May 26, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

norovirus-2(1)

A norovirus outbreak originating from a California restaurant has sickened about 100 people, according to the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department.

Jessie Burmester, an epidemiologist from the health department, told KSBY news that 97 cases have been confirmed in connection with the outbreak earlier this month. While Burmester did not disclose the name of the restaurant involved, she revealed that the investigations consistently pointed to the same establishment.

“Our primary objective during investigations is to identify a common source or exposure point,” Burmester said. “Thus far, all individuals reporting illness have consistently provided the name of the restaurant.”

Leave a comment

Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Quality, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Safety Regulations, Food Testing, Food Virus, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Norovirus, outbreak

USA – Papa Murphy’s Cookie Dough Salmonella Outbreak

Posted on May 25, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Food Poison Journal

Oregon Department of Health links 4 residents to Papa Murphy’s Cookie Dough Salmonella Outbreak

Food Poison Journal

Washington Department of Health reports 6 with Salmonella linked to Papa Murphy’s Cooking Dough

Food Poison Journal

Idaho Public Health weighs in on Papa Murphy’s Salmonella Outbreak

Leave a comment

Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Salmonella

USA – FDA – Core Outbreak Table Investigations of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

Posted on May 25, 2023 by | Leave a comment

FDA

What’s New

  • An outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis (ref # 1156) linked to raw cookie dough has been added to the table. On 05/23/2023, FDA issued an Outbreak Advisory. Additionally, traceback, an onsite inspection, and sample collection and analysis have been initiated.
  • An outbreak of Cyclospora cayetanensis (ref # 1155) in a not yet identified product has been added to the table. Traceback has been initiated.
  • For the investigation of illnesses with a suspect vehicle of Morel mushrooms (ref # 1152), the FDA issued an advisory on 5/19/2023.
Date
Posted		 Ref Pathogen
or
Cause of
Illness		 Product(s)
Linked to
Illnesses
(if any)		 Total
Case
Count
Status
5/24/2023 1156 Salmonella
Enteritidis		 Raw Cookie Dough See
Outbreak
Advisory		 Active
5/24/2023 1155 Cyclospora
cayetanensis		 Not Yet
Identified		 19 Active
4/26/2023 1152 Not Yet Identified Morel Mushroom
(suspect)		 See Advisory Active
3/29/2023 1141 Salmonella Infantis Raw Flour See
Outbreak
Advisory		 Active
3/1/2023 1143 Hepatitis A Virus Frozen Organic
Strawberries		 See
Outbreak
Advisory		 Active
2/15/2023 1123 Listeria
monocytogenes		 Not Yet
Identified		 See
CDC
Investigation
Notice		 Active

Leave a comment

Posted in Cyclospora, Cyclosporiasis, FDA, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Hepatitis A, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, outbreak, Salmonella

USA – Salmonella Outbreaks Linked to Backyard Poultry

Posted on May 24, 2023 by | Leave a comment

CDC

Public health officials are investigating multistate outbreaks of Salmonella linked to contact with backyard poultry. Any backyard poultry can carry Salmonella germs that can make you sick. Always take steps to stay healthy around your flock.

Fast Facts
  • Illnesses: 104
  • Hospitalizations: 19
  • Deaths: 0
  • States: 31
  • Investigation status: Active
Backyard Poultry and Salmonella

Backyard poultry, like chickens and ducks, can carry Salmonella germs even if they look healthy and clean. These germs can easily spread to anything in the areas where the poultry live and roam.

You can get sick from touching your backyard poultry or anything in their environment and then touching your mouth or food and swallowing Salmonella germs.

What Backyard Flock Owners Should Do
  • Wash your hands
    • Always wash your hands with soap and water immediately after touching backyard poultry, their eggs, or anything in the area where they live and roam.
    • Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available. Consider keeping hand sanitizer at your coop.
  • Be safe around backyard flocks
    • Don’t kiss or snuggle backyard poultry, and don’t eat or drink around them. This can spread Salmonella germs to your mouth and make you sick.
    • Keep your backyard flock and supplies you use to care for them (like feed containers and shoes you wear in the coop) outside of the house. You should also clean the supplies outside the house.
  • Supervise kids around flocks
    • Always supervise children around backyard poultry and make sure they wash their hands properly afterward.
    • Don’t let children younger than 5 years touch chicks, ducklings, or other backyard poultry. Young children are more likely to get sick from germs like Salmonella.
  • Handle eggs safely
    • Collect eggs often. Eggs that sit in the nest can become dirty or break.
    • Throw away cracked eggs. Germs on the shell can more easily enter the egg through a cracked shell.
    • Rub off dirt on eggs with fine sandpaper, a brush, or a cloth. Don’t wash eggs because colder water can pull germs into the egg.
    • Refrigerate eggs to keep them fresh and slow the growth of germs.
    • Cook eggs until both the yolk and white are firm, and cook egg dishes to an internal temperature of 160°F to kill all germs.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these severe symptoms:

  • Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
  • Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving
  • Bloody diarrhea
  • So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
  • Signs of dehydration, such as:
    • Not peeing much
    • Dry mouth and throat
    • Feeling dizzy when standing up

Leave a comment

Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Salmonella, Salmonella in Chicken

UK – 50 sick in Cryptosporidium outbreak linked to farm

Posted on May 24, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

water contamination

Fifty cases of Cryptosporidium have been traced to a farm on an island off the south coast of England.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)’s South East branch has tried to contact people who visited Hazelgrove Farm from April to the start of May on the Isle of Wight.

People are thought to have become sick after coming into contact with animals. The farm halted animal petting activity in early May.

No ongoing risk
Dr. Anand Fernandes, the health protection consultant for UKHSA South East, said there is no ongoing risk to the public associated with the farm.

Leave a comment

Posted in Contaminated water, Cryptosporidiosis, Cryptosporidium, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, water microbiology, Water Safety

Research – Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Raw Cookie Dough

Posted on May 24, 2023 by | Leave a comment

CDC

Papa Murphy’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Fast Facts
  • Illnesses: 18
  • Hospitalizations: 2
  • Deaths: 0
  • States: 6
  • Recall: No
  • Investigation status: Active
Contaminated Food

Papa Murphy’s raw cookie dough:

  • Chocolate chip cookie dough
  • S’mores bars dough

Nine sick people reported eating raw cookie dough from Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza in the week before they got sick. Based on this information, Papa Murphy’s has temporarily stopped selling their raw chocolate chip cookie dough and raw S’mores bars dough.

At least two sick people did not eat at Papa Murphy’s. Investigators are working to identify the contaminated ingredient in the raw cookie dough.

What You Should Do
  • Check your refrigerator and freezer for Papa Murphy’s chocolate chip cookie dough or S’mores bars dough.
    • Throw the dough away, even if you didn’t get sick after eating some of it.
    • Wash items and surfaces that may have touched the dough using hot soapy water or a dishwasher.
  • Always follow cookie dough baking instructions in the recipe or on the package label.
    • Papa Murphy’s chocolate chip cookie dough and S’mores bars dough are not meant to be eaten raw.
    • Most raw cookie dough is made with unpasteurized eggs or raw flour and can have germs like Salmonella and E. coli.
    • Some other companies make edible cookie dough that does not have to be baked. These products are made with heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs or no eggs. Read the label carefully to make sure the dough is meant to be eaten without baking or cooking.
  • Call a healthcare provider if you have any of these severe Salmonella symptoms:
    • Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
    • Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving
    • Bloody diarrhea
    • So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
    • Signs of dehydration, such as:
      • Not peeing much
      • Dry mouth and throat
      • Feeling dizzy when standing up
Symptoms of Salmonella
  • Most people infected with Salmonella experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.
    • Symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after swallowing the bacteria.
    • Most people recover without treatment after 4 to 7 days.
  • Some people—especially children younger than 5 years, adults 65 years and older, and people with weakened immune systems—may experience more severe illnesses that require medical treatment or hospitalization.
  • For more information about Salmonella, see the Salmonella Questions and Answers page.

Leave a comment

Posted in CDC, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Salmonella

Aremenia – 16 children with food poisoning ate boiled eggs, yogurt soup, pea soup, pasta pilaf in Armenia kindergarten

Posted on May 22, 2023 by | 2 comments

NEWS AM

At 10:30pm Thursday, the Ararat provincial center of the Food Safety Inspection Body (FSIB) of Armenia received a verbal report from the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention that six children, aged 3 to 4 years old, attending a nursery kindergarten in Artashat city were transferred to the Artashat hospital, with signs of food poisoning, FSIB noted in a statement.

One child was taken to Muratsan hospital in Yerevan.

But as of 10:30am Friday, the number of kids from the aforesaid kindergarten who were hospitalized had reached 16, and two of them are in the infectious disease ward.

The children are in satisfactory condition.

Initial diagnosis was unverified food poisoning and vomiting.

Samples were taken from the food on Thursday’s menu (boiled eggs, yogurt soup, pea soup, pasta pilaf) of this kindergarten. The samples have been submitted for lab tests, and the respective results will be announced later.

2 Comments

Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak

Hong Kong – authorities launch investigation after 20 pupils ‘fall ill at Harrow International School’

Posted on May 22, 2023 by | Leave a comment

SCMP

Hong Kong health authorities are investigating a case of suspected food poisoning at a prestigious international school where 20 pupils fell ill after eating dinner at the campus cafeteria.

The Centre for Health Protection reported that the 20 students had eaten macaroni and cheese, as well as chicken, at the school’s canteen.

Officers from the centre and the Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene inspected the school’s premises on Friday and advised it on food poisoning prevention.

An investigation into the incident was ongoing.

Leave a comment

Posted in food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak

India – 135 people hospitalised in Malappuram after showing symptoms of food poisoning

Posted on May 22, 2023 by | Leave a comment

The Hindu

As many as 135 people who attended a wedding at Kalady near Tavanur in Malappuram district on Wednesday were hospitalised after they developed symptoms of food poisoning.

Many of them are children. They were admitted to different hospitals at Edappal and neighbouring places with diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. Health officials said none was critical.

While 69 people from Thuruvanam island near Maranchery, who accompanied the bride to the party at the groom’s house at Kalady, fell sick, 66 of those who suffered food poisoning were from Kalady panchayat.

Health officials examined the premises where food poisoning was suspected and said it could have been caused by the water used during the function.

Leave a comment

Posted in Contaminated water, Decontamination Microbial, food bourne outbreak, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, outbreak, Water, water microbiology, Water Safety