Seattle-King County Public Health (Public Health) investigated an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 (STEC) in the spring of 2024. This outbreak was associated with PCC Community Markets.
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Category Archives: Shigatoxin
USA – Missouri LongHorn Steakhouse linked to 68 Shigella Illnesses
The St. Clair County Health Department (SCCHD) and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) continue to investigate the outbreak of Shigellosis caused by Shigella bacteria, a disease that affects your digestive system. As of October 11, 2024, the SCCHD has identified 24 individuals with positive Shigella lab reports and an additional 44 individuals reporting illness consistent with Shigellosis after dining at the LongHorn Steakhouse located at 6115 North Illinois Street, in Fairview Heights, Illinois between the dates of September 20th and September 30th, 2024. Age range of those affected are from age 12 to 80 years of age. A total of nine (9) people have been hospitalized.
LongHorn Steakhouse officials voluntarily closed the Fairview Heights establishment on October 2, 2024 and have fully cooperated with SCCHD and IDPH on the investigation to determine the source of the infections. SCCHD has performed environmental assessments of the restaurant and provided corrective actions and guidance in consultation with IDPH on safe food handling practices, proper handwashing protocols and professional environmental cleaning services to prevent further spread of disease.
What does a Parent need to know about Shigella?
Shigella is a type of bacteria that causes an infectious disease called shigellosis, which is most known for causing diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. As a parent, it’s important to be informed about shigella to protect your family, especially young children, who are more susceptible. Here’s what you need to know: Read more at the link above.
How common are Shigella Outbreaks caused by Restaurant Employees
Shigella outbreaks caused by restaurant employees are not extremely common, but they do occur and can be significant when they happen. Shigella is a highly infectious bacterium, and even a small amount can cause illness. Outbreaks linked to food handlers can happen through the following mechanisms read more at the link above.
USA – Illinois LongHorn Steakhouse link in Shigella Outbreak
According to press reports, the St. Clair County Health Department is investigating the cause of a cluster of gastrointestinal illnesses among customers who dined at the LongHorn Steakhouse in Fairview Heights.
The restaurant has voluntarily closed Wednesday and Thursday. Officials determined that some of the illnesses were caused by shigellosis, an infectious disease caused by a group of bacteria called shigella. As of Wednesday afternoon, the department had received 14 reports from people testing positive for shigella. Twelve had dined at the LongHorn Steakhouse at 6115 N. Illinois St. between Sept. 21 and 22. Six cases have required hospitalization, according to the health department.
USA – Meadow View Jerseys Raw Milk Recalled in PA For STEC E. coli
Meadow View Jerseys raw milk is being recalled in Pennsylvania for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The raw milk was sold between August 5 and August 12, 2024 and has a sell by date of August 19, 2024. Routine testing for pathogens confirmed that the milk was contaminated. The recall notice did not mention whether or not any illnesses have been reported to date.
Posted in food recall, product recall, Raw Milk, Recall, Shigatoxin, STEC, STEC E.coli
Hong Kong – CHP investigates case of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infection
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (April 3) investigating a case of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection, and hence reminded the public to maintain good personal, food and environmental hygiene against intestinal infections.
The case involves a 32-year-old female with good past health, who presented with fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomit on March 15. She attended the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) of North Lantau Hospital (NLTH) on the same day. She has been in stable condition and did not require hospitalisation.
Her stool specimen grew STEC upon laboratory testing.
Posted in Food Illness, Foodborne Illness, Illness, Shigatoxin, STEC, STEC E.coli
Research – USA – Westin Shigella Outbreak sickens 32 linked to ill food service workers – 2023
The Alameda County Public Health Department, Los Angeles Department of Public Health, and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) investigated an outbreak of shigellosis associated with a Kaiser Permanente union delegate conference held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles from August 21 to August 24, 2023. The event included 269 attendees from across California. This outbreak was assigned the code “OB20233135.”
Research – Finland – Risk assessment of STEC in medium-cooked ground beef patties
Abstract
Medium-rare or medium-done ground beef patties are associated with the risk of
microbiological contamination, especially from Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli
(STEC) bacteria, which can cause gastrointestinal infections. The objective of this risk
assessment was to evaluate the food poisoning risk associated with medium-done
ground beef patties made from Finnish beef and served in foodservice establishments.
Simultaneously, the Finnish Food Authority’s recommendation for preparing medium
ground beef patties was assessed. The recommendation includes, among other things, the
removal of surfaces from the meat before grinding it into ground beef in the kitchen of food
service establishments.
The risk assessment used an application based on a Bayesian statistical model. The data
included information collected from the Finnish Food Authority’s registers and a survey
conducted as part of the project for foodservice establishments. To evaluate the Finnish
Food Authority’s recommendation, a study was conducted to determine how STEC bacteria
are transferred from the surface of experimentally contaminated roast beef to the inner
parts of the meat when the surfaces are removed.
The risk of the population getting sick was greatly influenced by the proportion of ground
beef patties served medium and how hot the patties were heated. In a situation where
approximately a tenth of the patties were cooked medium (internal temperature 55°C),
there would be 100 illnesses per 100,000 residents in Finland per year. Surface removal as a
risk management measure only worked in those experiments with roasts when the level of
contamination was low. Even then, some of the tested roasts still had STEC bacteria.
Posted in Food Microbiology Research, Research, Shigatoxin, STEC, STEC E.coli
Research – The Science of Shiga Toxin-Producing (Verotoxin-Producing) Escherichia coli (STEC): An Ongoing One Health Journey toward Improved Health and Food Safety—Editorial Summary
Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC), also termed Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), is a human pathogen transmitted by food, water, animals, and their environment, and from one person to another [1]. The pathogen typically causes diarrheal illness but can also cause severe systemic disease, particularly in children and the elderly [1]. Virulence is associated with a type III secretion system, which enables injection of bacterial effector proteins into host cells [2]. In addition, Shiga toxins can damage the kidneys and lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). No specific treatment is available for STEC infection. To date, there have been advances in the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and genomics of STEC, many of which are discussed in this Special Issue: “The Science of Shiga Toxin-Producing (Verotoxin-Producing) Escherichia coli (STEC): An Ongoing One Health Journey toward Improved Health and Food Safety”, with new data and novel methodologies and technologies to enhance our understanding. In the present day, dangerous outbreaks still occur. In September 2023, Canada experienced an outbreak linked to children daycares which resulted in 446 cases of the disease, with 38 children hospitalized and 23 diagnosed with HUS; fortunately, there were no fatalities [3].
In order to reduce the incident of human illness, a better understanding of the pathogenesis and epidemiology of STEC infection is needed, with an emphasis on a One Health-approach solution to the disease. This Special Issue of Microorganisms gathers six articles addressing various aspects of STEC research, related to its pathogenesis and epidemiology (1–3), metagenomics (4), host interactions (4), and the persistence of STEC in the environment (5). Much of this work answers critical questions related to the complex interactions between pathogen, humans, animals, and the environment.
Future STEC research should focus on (i) strengthening integrated surveillance systems that encompass human, animal, and environmental monitoring to better understand STEC epidemiology; (ii) investigating host immune responses to different STEC strains to identify potential targets for therapeutic interventions; (iii) continued research on reservoirs and transmission dynamics; (iv) studying antimicrobial resistance patterns in STEC strains and understanding their implications for treatment and control measures, (v) investing in research for the development of vaccines against STEC to prevent infections or reduce the severity of disease; (vi) fostering international collaboration to share data, resources, and expertise for a more comprehensive global understanding of STEC . Scientific meetings, for example, the International Symposium on Shiga Toxin (Verocytoxin) Producing E. coli Infections (VTEC 2023) held in May 2023 in Banff, Alberta, Canada, should continue. This meeting is linked to the current Special Issue and enabled over 200 researchers from around the world to share data, collaborate, and develop solutions regarding STEC. The next triennial conference is scheduled in Aberdeen, the UK, in 2026.
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