Tag Archives: science

How Many Bacteria Do You Add to Your Environment? – 37 Million Per Hour

Posted on March 29, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Science Daily

A person’s mere presence in a room can add 37 million bacteria to the air every hour — material largely left behind by previous occupants and stirred up from the floor — according to new research by Yale University engineers.

Overall, they found that “human occupancy was associated with substantially increased airborne concentrations” of bacteria and fungi of various sizes. Occupancy resulted in especially large spikes for larger-sized fungal particles and medium-sized bacterial particles.

Researchers found that about 18 percent of all bacterial emissions in the room — including both fresh and previously deposited bacteria — came from humans, as opposed to plants and other sources.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Microbiology, Technology

Tagged , ,

Wales – Food Safety Report Over a Year Late

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Wales Online

A watchdog has criticised the Welsh government for failing to publish a key food safety review more than a year after it was due to report.

Consumer Focus Wales called on First Minister Carwyn Jones to make public the findings of a report he commissioned in 2010 into how best to enforce food hygiene regulations in Wales. The Food Standards Agency report should have been published in February 2011.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Food Safety, Food Testing, Microbiology

Tagged

HPA Report Salmonella poona

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

HPA

The Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Pathogens (LGP) has reported 49 non-travel associated, fully sensitive cases of Salmonella Poona with specimen dates on or after 24 October 2011 to 19 March 2012. This compares with 21 and 33 cases reported during the whole of 2009 and 2010 respectively. Those affected range from four months to 88 years of age with 65% of all cases aged over 60 years and a median age of 69.5 years; men and women are similarly affected.

Cases have been found across England and Wales, with most cases occurring in the South West (28%), South East (16%) and Wales (14%) regions. So far, no cases have been reported in London and the East Midlands and 14 cases have received treatment in hospital.

The Salmonella Poona isolates from 41 of the cases have been further typed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and all but one has the same PFGE profile XB.0003. This strain is indistinguishable from a strain seen in an outbreak in Sweden in 2010; however, a source was not been confirmed for that outbreak.

Salmonella enterica serovar Poona causes gastro-enteritis in humans through the consumption of contaminated food. In humans chronic carriage is rare and so cases of Salmonella Poona should be excluded from work, school and other institutional settings for 48 hours after first normal stools and will not require microbiological clearance [1].

Following the increase in cases, an Outbreak Control Team comprising representatives from the South West, Wales and South East regions, and from HPA Colindale’s Gastrointestinal, Emerging and Zoonotic Infections group (GEZI), is investigating.

Reference

1. Preventing person-to-person spread following gastrointestinal infections: guidelines for public health physicians and environmental health officers. Communicable Disease and Public Health 7(4), December 2004, pp362.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Salmonella

Tagged ,

Ireland Rise in Campylobacter Cases?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Independant IE

Experts are puzzled at the rise in cases of Campylobacter — the most common cause of food poisoning.

There were 2,440 official cases notified in the Republic last year, which is a rise of 46.9pc over 2010.

Its largest group of victims are children under four years of age, according to the disease watchdog, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre of Ireland.

It pointed out that the increase in cases has been examined in a range of countries in the past but beyond theories about consumption of poorly cooked poultry no firm explanation for any rise was found.

I was discussing this at a meeting yesterday and we wondered if it was linked to the current economic climate and chicken being a cheaper meat than beef or lamb?

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen

Tagged ,

Ripeness of Product Could Affect Pathogen Growth

Posted on March 26, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Eurek Alert

The ripeness of fruit could determine how food-poisoning bacteria grow on them, according to scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology’s Spring Conference in Dublin this week. Their work could lead to new strategies to improve food safety, bringing many health and economic benefits.

A wide range of fresh produce has been linked to outbreaks of Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica including melons, jalapeño and serrano peppers, basil, lettuce, horseradish sprouts and tomatoes. Researchers at Imperial College London are looking at how these bacterial pathogens latch onto fruits and vegetables and establish themselves in the first place.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, E.coli, E.coli O104, E.coli O157, EHEC, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Technology, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Salmonella

Tagged , ,

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

Leave a comment

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

Tagged

NZ – Campylobacter 200 Cases

Posted on March 21, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Press NZ

Cases of campylobacter have been on the rise since December, hitting a peak last month, with almost 200 reported cases in Canterbury and the West Coast.

In some weeks, the number of reported cases has been double that of weeks in previous years.

Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) medical officer of health Ramon Pink said campylobacter rates in Canterbury used to be “right up there with global rates”.

“Over the last few years a lot of work has gone into reducing those rates and we had definitely seen a decline but, for some reason, this year numbers have increased again,” he said.

“This rise could be due to a number of things – maybe because of the earthquakes and subsequent damage to infrastructure, but I am just speculating.”

The bacterial disease is transmitted from contaminated food or water and can infect the gastrointestinal tract and cause diarrhoea, fever and cramps.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged

Ottawa Salmonella Outbreak – Now 33 Cases

Posted on March 20, 2012 by | Leave a comment
There now are 37 Salmonella infections in Ottawa, most linked to a catering company that served meals to schools and day care centers, the city’s public health department reported Monday.
 
The outbreak total includes 33 children, ranging in age from 15 months to 18 years old. Three required hospitalization but have since been released. The children all attended one of seven schools or a single day care center.
 
Two of four ill adults appear to be part of the outbreak; two cases may be unrelated, the health department said in a news release.
 
Still no official word on what caused the outbreak of Salmonella poisoning, although the owner of The Lunch Lady catering company, implicated as the source, said earlier that investigators were looking at ground beef used to tacos and lasagna.
 

Leave a comment

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

Tagged ,

Listeria Slows Foetal Heart Rate

Posted on March 15, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

Listeriosis causes fetal heart rate to slow for sustained periods of time, according results of a new study by pediatric researchers published in Nature.com. The study was undertaken in mice.

 The ultrasound revealed sustained foetal bradycardia, the slowing of the foetal heartbeat, in infected foetuses, with an association between slowed foetal heart rate and strong bioluminescent signal.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Foodborne Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen

Tagged ,

Views Sought on Using Lactic Acid on Beef Carcasses – FSA

Posted on March 14, 2012 by | 1 comment

FSA

The Food Standards Agency is asking businesses to provide their views on the use of lactic acid to reduce microbiological surface contamination on beef carcasses, proposed in a draft EU regulation.

The FSA has already consulted widely to inform the UK voting position on the EU draft regulation, and would like to consult further in order to assess the likely impact on UK businesses. If authorised, the use of lactic acid on beef carcasses would be permissive rather than mandatory. A vote on the Commission regulation is expected in spring 2012.

Businesses in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are asked to submit their views, for instance whether they would use lactic acid if approved, what the cost might be, and whether staff would require additional training in the process.

1 Comment

Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Standards Agency, Food Technology, Food Testing, Microbiology

Tagged , ,