Food and farming charity The Soil Association has called on the British government to investigate the bacteria MRSA in UK farm animals, as well as the claimed overuse of antibiotics in farming.
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Tag Archives: science
USA – 10 Largest Food Poisoning Outbreaks 2012
The 10 largest multi-state food poisoning outbreaks of 2012 poisoned 1,071 people in 45 states. Various strains of just three pathogens- Salmonella, E.coli and Listeria were the cause of the 10 largest multi-state foodborne illness outbreaks, based on the total number of people sickened. Six of them were caused by Salmonella, three by E.coli and one by Listeria. These dangerous bacteria made their way into unsuspecting consumers through a variety of food sources including meat, cheese, fish, peanut butter, fruit and vegetables.
Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O157, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Hygiene, Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Research
Tagged dangerous bacteria, environment, food, science, unsuspecting consumers
Caribbean – Norovirus Cruise Ship Outbreaks
AN outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea has sickened more than 400 vacationers and crew members aboard two Christmas-time cruises in the Caribbean, the CDC says.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Saturday it was still conducting lab tests to determine the pathogen, but it indicated it might be norovirus, which is highly contagious and typically transmitted from person to person.
Both ships, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 and Princess Cruises’ Emerald Princess, reported the outbreak to the CDC, following guidelines that come into play when more than two per cent of the passengers and crew are hit.
A similar outbreak earlier in the month hit the P&O Oriana liner on a 10-night Baltic cruise, infecting about 300 of the 1843 travellers aboard.
Posted in Food Safety, Food Testing, Food Virus, Illness, Microbiology, Norovirus, outbreak, Pathogen, Virus
Tagged science, vomiting and diarrhoea
USA – Norovirus Updates
A suspected norovirus outbreak has been declared at the Stateville Correctional Facility in Illinois. Illinois Department of Corrections spokesperson Melaney Arnold told Food Poisoning Bulletin that approximately 144 inmates reported becoming ill after Christmas. No patients have been hospitalized. Food testing is underway to try to determine the source of the outbreak.
The Department of Corrections and the Illinois Department of Public Health are working on the outbreak investigation and control efforts. Samples have been sent to the state laboratory, and public health officials are waiting for results.
A new strain of a stomach virus has caused at least three outbreaks in San Luis Obispo County within the past month, according to local health officials.
All three outbreaks, two of which occurred in restaurants and one in a long-term care facility, were caused from a new strain of the Norovirus from Australia, GII strain. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and body aches.
The highly contagious virus is spread through contact with infected people, consuming infected foods or touching infected surfaces. Health officials are asking those who are infected to stay home as they are still contagious for a time after symptoms have subsided.
Each Year Norovirus infections cause an estimated 21 million illnesses in the United States, and 70,000 hospitalizations.
UK – HPA Update Norovirus 2012
Latest figures from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) show there have been 3,538 laboratory confirmed cases of norovirus this season (from week 27 to week 50 2012), up from 3,046 cases last week. The latest figures are 83 percent higher than the number of cases reported at this point last year (the same increase as was reported last week), when there were 1,934 cases.
During the two weeks up to 23 December there were 70 hospital outbreaks reported, compared to 61 in the previous fortnight, bringing the total of outbreaks for the season to 538.
Culture Better Than Rapid?
Tests for foodborne pathogens in which a culture is not grown in a lab may be necessary for produce companies, but they can’t replace traditional culture tests, industry leaders and government officials say.
Nonculture diagnostic tests have been around since the early 1980s, said David Gombas, senior vice president of food safety and technology for the Washington D.C.-based United Fresh Produce Association.
But there has been a recent push, Gombas said, to use them to replace culture tests that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies and organizations rely on to accurately diagnose cases of salmonella, E. coli and other foodborne illnesses.
That trend was highlighted in a recent article in Scientific America magazine, which found that many clinics and state-run labs are turning to nonculture tests, which are faster than culture tests.
They’re faster, but are they better?
“Right now, the answer is no,” Gombas said. “CDC, FDA, and those in the produce industry I talk to — they want a live bug.”
All I Want for Christmas is Norovirus !
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit confirmed Friday that it was the Norovirus that caused an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness that affected dozens of people.
Maltese Grocery had shut down its catering operations temporarily after 85 people became sick after eating food at three events the company had catered the previous week. They’ve since resumed, but with additional precautions.
Senior Public Health Inspector Abby Mackie said clinical specimens submitted to a lab confirmed the Norovirus to be the source of the outbreak.
DENVER— The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is reporting widespread gastrointestinal illness (norovirus) throughout Colorado, including in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, schools and child care centers. Everyone is encouraged to increase simple prevention measures to stop further spread of illness in the community. Symptoms of the illness include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping.
Alicia Cronquist, epidemiologist at the department, said, “We believe the illness is being caused by a virus germ called norovirus. This infection is very common this time of year.
MIYAZAKI — Six patients have died of gastroenteritis caused by a norovirus outbreak at Shunkokaihigashi Hospital in Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture, hospital officials said Sunday.
The victims — all men aged between 78 and 88 — were among 44 patients and staff who came down with symptoms of the illness, including vomiting and diarrhea, the officials said. All six were bedridden.
The health ministry has issued a nationwide warning about the norovirus because infections are approaching the record high set in 2006.
TAIPEI–Health experts said Tuesday that an unusually high number of diarrhea cases have been reported this winter due to norovirus outbreaks and it warned that the peak season is yet to come.//
About 10,108 patients sought treatment for watery diarrhea at emergency departments across the country last week, which was a five-year high, said Chuang Jen-hsiang, director of the Epidemic Intelligence Center at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Research Articles – Pulsed Electronic Field Milk – PCR Method Vibrio – Listeria Detection Culture Methods
Abstract
Lethal and sublethal injury of two Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes) and one Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria in milk by pulsed electric fields (PEF) were determined using non-selective and selective media. PEF inactivation kinetics including lethal and sublethal injury fractions was also studied. The proportion of the sublethally injured microbial cells depended on the microorganisms, electric field strength and treatment time. The proportion of sublethally injured microbial cells reached maximum after a specific PEF treatment, and it kept constant or progressively decreased at greater electric field strengths and with longer PEF treatments. For the strain of L. monocytogenes, the proportion of sublethally injured cells increased from 18.98% to 43.64% with the increasing electric field strength from15 to 30 kV/cm. While for the strains of E. coli and S. aureus, the proportion of sublethally injured cells achieved the maximum (40.74% and 36.51%, respectively) at 25 kV/cm and then decreased. The proportion of the sublethally injured microbial cells reached maximum at 400 μs (S. aureus and L. monocytogenes) or 500 μs (E. coli), and decreased at longer treatments at 30 kV/cm. The PEF inactivation kinetics including lethal and sublethally injured fractions was analyzed by the Hülsheger model, and the model parameters (EC, tC, kE, bt) for lethal and sublethal injury were also calculated.
Abstract
A previously developed multiplex PCR targeting gyrB of Vibrios at genus level and pntA genes for specific detection of Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus was evaluated. The sensitivity of the multiplex PCR on spiked seafood was 1.5 × 103 CFU g−1. One hundred and fifty seafood samples were collected from retail stores and hypermarkets in different locations in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and Seri Kembangan. The prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus was 29% (43/150). The pntA primers for V. parahaemolyticus detection were 100% specific and comparable to the toxR gene-based PCR. Six (12%) and 2 (4%) isolates contained trh and tdh genes, respectively. Repetitive Extragenic Palindromic PCR (REP-PCR) was used to genetically characterize the V. parahaemolyticus isolates in which 41 REP profiles were observed and all the isolates were categorized into 11 distinct clusters at the similarity of 80%. tdh-positive isolates shared a low level of similarity with trh-positive isolates. The prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus and particularly the presence of virulent gene such as trh and tdh among the isolates reiterate a high risk of contamination for seafood consumers in Malaysia. DNA fingerprinting of V. parahaemolyticus in this study indicates a high genetic diversity among the isolates and REP-PCR was able to distinguish the isolates with different virulotypes.
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of Listeria spp., specifically Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and ascertain the efficiency of detecting L. monocytogenes with different selective culture media. A total of 396 RTE food samples were purchased from hypermarkets and streetside hawker stalls to examine the presence of Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes. The presumptive isolates were characterized biochemically and were further confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Out of 396 samples, Listeria spp. was detected in 71 (17.9%) samples in which 45 (11.4%) were positive for L. monocytogenes. Among the studied RTE foods, salads and vegetables had the highest prevalence (14.7%) of L. monocytogenes, followed by chicken and chicken products (13.2%), beverages (10%), eggs and egg products (9.5%), beef and beef products (6.7%), lunch boxes (6.7%) and seafood and seafood products (6.7%). Both Listeria selective agar and PALCAM agar displayed a low sensitivity and specificity in L. monocytogenes detection compared to CHROMagar™ Listeria which demonstrated 96.9% of sensitivity and 99.1% of specificity in L. monocytogenes detection in naturally-contaminated foods. In conclusion, this work revealed consumption of RTE foods as a potential risk of listeriosis in this region. The high contamination rate of L. monocytogenes in salads and vegetables from hypermarkets and streetside hawker stalls was of great concern due to emerging fresh produce-borne L.monocytogenes globally. The scenario warrants further surveillance and action by the local authority to control the incidence of L. monocytogenes contamination in RTE foods.
Canada – Salmonella Outbreak
EDMONTON – Health officials in southwestern Alberta are dealing with an acute outbreak of salmonella. Officials in Lethbridge say there are more than 30 cases, mostly in rural areas. Many of the infections are secondary ones, meaning it is being spread by household contact. Symptoms include nausea and vomiting and residents are warned that the most serious complication is dehydration.
USA – Foodborne Illness Outbreaks Database 1984 – 2012
Welcome to outbreakdatabase.com, a searchable database of illness outbreaks caused by one or more of the following
- consumption of contaminated foods or beverages,
- exposure to animals,
- exposure to contaminated recreational water,
- person-to-person contact with someone whose illness initiated from animal exposure or consumption of contaminated foods and beverages.
The database describes outbreaks occurring since 1984.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines an outbreak as “two or more ill persons linked to a common source” and this serves as the basis of outbreakdatabase.com. To be included in outbreakdatabase.com, the outbreak must have supporting documentation from public health agencies, journal articles, media reports, etc. Names of stores, brands, restaurants, or other sources are listed if they have been publicly identified previously.
The database is a work in progress. It will continually be updated and revised. Significant effort has been made to ensure the data are accurate. We welcome contributions, corrections, comments, etc. Please use the contact form for comments.
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