Category Archives: Yersinia

Research – Major pathogens rise in Ireland in 2022

Posted on April 5, 2023 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria infections all increased in Ireland in 2022, according to the latest figures.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), which is part of the Health Service Executive (HSE), shows the number of reports for the four pathogens rose compared to 2021.

Notifications of Salmonellosis doubled and the number of E. coli infections passed 1,000.

Full reports on these four pathogens and for outbreaks have not been published since 2018 because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic response and limited capacity at HPSC.

Campylobacter infections went up from 3,147 in 2021 to 3,619 in 2022.

Salmonella cases doubled from 173 in 2021 to 342 in 2022 but this is similar to 2018 and 2019 levels.

More than 1,000 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) notifications were noted. Up from 962 in 2021.

A total of 18 listeriosis cases were recorded, up from 15 in 2021. Fourteen were men and four were women. Fifteen cases were in the over-65 age group while two were less than 1 to 4 years old.

Figures also show three cases of Bacillus cereus foodborne infection or intoxication compared to none in 2021.

The published data, which covers 2018 to 2022, reveals two cases of botulism, although it is unclear if food was the cause. There was also one report of brucellosis in 2022. All other years reported no notifications of these diseases.

There were 17 yersiniosis cases in 2022 compared to 18 in 2021. Cryptosporidiosis declined from 845 in 2021 to 566 in 2022.

Shigellosis went up from 70 in 2021 to 157 in 2022. Norovirus also increased from 439 in 2021 to 990 in 2022.

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Posted in botulism, Brucellosis, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, E.coli, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Listeria, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Norovirus, Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia

Research – Microbiological safety of aged meat

Posted on January 29, 2023 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

Abstract

The impact of dry‐ageing of beef and wet‐ageing of beef, pork and lamb on microbiological hazards and spoilage bacteria was examined and current practices are described. As ‘standard fresh’ and wet‐aged meat use similar processes these were differentiated based on duration. In addition to a description of the different stages, data were collated on key parameters (time, temperature, pH and aw) using a literature survey and questionnaires. The microbiological hazards that may be present in all aged meats included Shiga toxin‐producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, enterotoxigenic Yersinia spp., Campylobacter spp. and Clostridium spp. Moulds, such as Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp., may produce mycotoxins when conditions are favourable but may be prevented by ensuring a meat surface temperature of −0.5 to 3.0°C, with a relative humidity (RH) of 75–85% and an airflow of 0.2–0.5 m/s for up to 35 days. The main meat spoilage bacteria include Pseudomonas spp., Lactobacillus spp. Enterococcus spp., Weissella spp., Brochothrix spp., Leuconostoc spp., Lactobacillus spp., Shewanella spp. and Clostridium spp. Under current practices, the ageing of meat may have an impact on the load of microbiological hazards and spoilage bacteria as compared to standard fresh meat preparation. Ageing under defined and controlled conditions can achieve the same or lower loads of microbiological hazards and spoilage bacteria than the variable log10 increases predicted during standard fresh meat preparation. An approach was used to establish the conditions of time and temperature that would achieve similar or lower levels of L. monocytogenes and Yersinia enterocolitica (pork only) and lactic acid bacteria (representing spoilage bacteria) as compared to standard fresh meat. Finally, additional control activities were identified that would further assure the microbial safety of dry‐aged beef, based on recommended best practice and the outputs of the equivalence assessment.

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Posted in Aspergillus, Campylobacter, Clostridium, Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Penicillium spp, Research, Salmonella, Staphylococcal Toxin, Staphylococcus aureus, STEC, STEC E.coli, Yersinia

Research – Yersiniosis – Annual Epidemiological Report for 2021

Posted on December 21, 2022 by | Leave a comment

ECDC

For 2021, 6 876 confirmed cases of yersiniosis (caused by Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis) were reported by 28 EU/EEA countries with an overall rate of 1.9 cases per 100 000 population. This represented an increase of 11.8% on 2020 and the pre-pandemic period (2017−2019). As in previous years, Germany accounted for the highest number of cases, followed by France. These two countries accounted for 49% of all confirmed yersiniosis cases in the EU/EEA. Denmark had the highest notification rate of 7.8 cases per 100 000 population, followed by Finland, Lithuania and Czechia (Table 1, Figure 1).
Thirty-three percent of 1 649 yersiniosis cases with known information were hospitalised. No deaths were reported among the 3 659 cases with known outcome.

Click to access AER%20yersiniosis%20-%202021.pdf

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Yersinia, yersinia enterocolitica, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Research – Lowest number of recorded Hepatitis A cases, five other food and waterborne diseases rising towards pre-pandemic levels

Posted on December 20, 2022 by | Leave a comment

ECDC

Hepatitis A cases in 2021 were at their lowest levels since EU-level hepatitis A surveillance began in 2007, while five other food and waterborne diseases are rising towards pre-pandemic levels. The information is revealed in the Annual Epidemiological Report 2021, of which six chapters are published today by ECDC.

The chapters cover diseases causing  the highest number of  food- and waterborne infections in the EU/EEA, namely campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, yersiniosis, shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli infection, listeriosis, and hepatitis A.  

In the EU/EEA, the hepatitis A notification rate was exceptionally low in 2021, with 0.92 cases per 100 000 population, compared to 2.2 in 2019. This can be attributed primarily to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions, including reduced international travel.  

However, a sharp decline in the trend of hepatitis A cases has also been evident in the EU/EEA over the last five years. Additional factors contributing to this may be the heightened awareness of hepatitis A transmission, increased preventive measures such as practising good hygiene and increased vaccine uptake among at-risk groups. Increased natural immunity in at-risk groups following a large multi-country outbreak occurring in 2017 and 2018 may also be of importance.  

In 2020, the number of cases of campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis, the two most commonly reported gastrointestinal infections in the EU/EEA, decreased notably due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike hepatitis A, these appeared to increase in 2021, but the levels are still well below those of the pre-pandemic years. This could partly be an effect of reduced travel as travel-related infections were at their lowest in 2021. 

Listeriosis, shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli infections and yersiniosis trends decreased less notably in 2020 and the number of cases returned to the pre-pandemic levels in 2021. This might be due to the more severe symptoms caused particularly by listeriosis and shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli infections, which are then more likely to be diagnosed and reported. Additionally, many of the cases are acquired  within the EU/EEA, and the numbers are not as affected by international travel restrictions.  

In 2021, although the COVID-19 pandemic was still ongoing, the gradual reduction of COVID-19 restriction measures, along with the return to normal daily life (social events, doctor’s visits, travel), the reopening of bars, restaurants and catering facilities (i.e. schools, workplaces), may explain the increase in cases of the five food- and waterborne diseases.   

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Posted in Campylobacter, Decontamination Microbial, escherichia coli, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Hepatitis A, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Salmonella, Yersinia

RASFF Alert – Yersinia enterocolitica – Smoked Chicken Breast

Posted on September 23, 2022 by | Leave a comment

RASFF

Yersinia enterocolitica in smoked chicken breast from Belgium in Portugal and the UK

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Posted in food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Testing, RASFF, Yersinia, yersinia enterocolitica

Research – First Description of a Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Clonal Outbreak in France, Confirmed Using a New Core Genome Multilocus Sequence Typing Method

Posted on September 2, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Sante Publique

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is an enteric pathogen causing mild enteritis that can lead to mesenteric adenitis in children and septicemia in elderly patients. Most cases are sporadic, but outbreaks have already been described in different countries. We report for the first time a Y. pseudotuberculosis clonal outbreak in France, that occurred in 2020. An epidemiological investigation based on food queries pointed toward the consumption of tomatoes as the suspected source of infection. The Yersinia National Reference Laboratory (YNRL) developed a new cgMLST scheme with 1,921 genes specific to Y. pseudotuberculosis that identified the clustering of isolates associated with the outbreak and allowed to perform molecular typing in real time. In addition, this method allowed to retrospectively identify isolates belonging to this cluster from earlier in 2020. This method, which does not require specific bioinformatic skills, is now used systematically at the YNRL and proves to display an excellent discriminatory power and is available to the scientific community. IMPORTANCE We describe in here a novel core-genome MLST method that allowed to identify in real time, and for the first time in France, a Y. pseudotuberculosis clonal outbreak that took place during the summer 2020 in Corsica. Our method allows to support epidemiological and microbiological investigations to establish a link between patients infected with closely associated Y. pseudotuberculosis isolates, and to identify the potential source of infection. In addition, we made this method available for the scientific community.

Auteur : Savin Cyril, Le Guern Anne-Sophie, Chereau Fanny, Guglielmini Julien, Heuzé Guillaume, Demeure Christian, Pizarro-Cerdá Javier
Microbiology spectrum, 2022, p. e0114522

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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 Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Safety, Food Safety Management, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, MLST, outbreak, Yersinia, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Denmark – Health and Economic Burden of Seven Foodborne Diseases in Denmark, 2019

Posted on August 15, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Mary Anne Liebert

We ranked seven foodborne pathogens in Denmark on the basis of their health and economic impact on society in 2019. We estimated burden of disease of infections with Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes, norovirus, and hepatitis A virus in terms of incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years (DALY), and economic burden in terms of direct and indirect health costs. These seven pathogens accounted for 268,372 cases, 98 deaths, and 3121 DALYs, and led to a total expenditure of 434 million Euro in 1 year in a country with 5.8 million citizens. Foodborne infections by Campylobacter, Salmonella, and norovirus caused the most DALYs, whereas Campylobacter, and norovirus and STEC had the higher costs. A combination of disease burden and cost of illness estimates is useful to inform policymaking and establish food safety priorities at the national level.

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Posted in Campylobacter, campylobacter coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Death, food bourne outbreak, food death, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning Death, Food Virus Death, Foodborne Illness, Foodborne Illness Death, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Norovirus, outbreak, Research, Salmonella, STEC, STEC E.coli, Yersinia, yersinia enterocolitica

Research – Public Health Risk of Foodborne Pathogens in Edible African Land Snails, Cameroon

Posted on July 23, 2022 by | Leave a comment

CDC

In tropical countries, land snails are an important food source; however, foodborne disease risks are poorly quantified. We detected Campylobacter spp., Yersinia spp., Listeria spp., Salmonella spp., or Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli in 57%–86% of snails in Cameroon. Snail meat is a likely vector for enteric diseases in sub-Saharan Africa countries.

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Posted in Campylobacter, campylobacter coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Pathogen, pathogenic, Research, Salmonella, STEC, STEC E.coli, Yersinia, yersinia enterocolitica

Sweden – Foodborne illness figures rise in Sweden in 2021

Posted on July 8, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

The number of foodborne infections climbed in Sweden in 2021 compared to the year before but most are still below pre-Coronavirus pandemic levels.

The report by the National Veterinary Institute (SVA), Folkhälsomyndigheten (the Public Health Agency of Sweden), Livsmedelsverket (the Swedish Food Agency) and Jordbruksverket (Swedish Board of Agriculture) showed a rise for Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli and Yersinia infections.

Disease surveillance relies on patients seeking care and fewer people have done this during the pandemic. This is believed to be related to patients with symptoms choosing to not seek care and a true reduction in disease incidence because of changes in general hygiene such as increased handwashing, physical distancing and reduced travel because of COVID-19-related recommendations, according to the agencies.

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Posted in Campylobacter, campylobacter coli, Campylobacter jejuni, E.coli, Food Illness, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Foodborne Illness, Foodborne Illness Death, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Research, Salmonella, Yersinia, yersinia enterocolitica

Finland – Finland on alert after Yersinia outbreak reports

Posted on March 8, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News

National public health officials in Finland are monitoring the situation following local reports of Yersinia outbreaks.

Two outbreaks of Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O:3 have been reported to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in recent weeks from the South Savo and Helsinki-Uusimaa regions.

Another suspected outbreak has been recorded in the Pirkanmaa region but patient samples have not been serotyped. People fell sick between early and mid-February.

A total of 39 cases were noted in all of Finland in February 2022, which is less than the 55 infections in February 2021.

In February 2022, five cases of Yersinia enterocolitica from South Savo were reported to the Infectious Diseases Register, which is run by THL, while from 2019 to 2021 there were no illnesses at the same time.

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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 recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, Illness, outbreak, Yersinia, yersinia enterocolitica