At least 38 people in Wisconsin who contracted Campylobacter infections from raw milk served at a banquet for the Durand High School football team could face long-term health problems. Some people with Campylobacter infections develop long-term complications such as reactive arthritis which causes painful swelling of the joints and Guillain-Barré Syndrome, (GBS) which is characterized by the sudden onset of paralysis that can last weeks, months or years. "People who develop GBS as a result of ingesting Campylobacter often have life-long complications. For example, one of our Campylobacter-GBS clients has paralysis in all four extremities that, years after consuming raw milk, still affect all of his activities of daily living," said Fred Pritzker, national food safety attorney and … [Read more...]
Campylobacter Uses Chicken “Juice” to Form Biofilms
A new study by the Institute of Food Research has shown how the bacteria Campylobacter uses "chicken juice" to persist in the food chain, attaching to surfaces and forming biofilms that make it more impervious to cleaning. Helen Brown, a Ph.D. student at the Institute, led the study. Scientists collected liquids produced from defrosting chickens, and found that Campylobacter used those liquids to form biofilms just like Salmonella bacteria, which are special structures that help the bacteria protect the colony from environmental threats. Brown said in a statement, "we have discovered that this increase in biofilm formation was due to chicken juice coating the surfaces we used with a protein-rich film. This film then makes it much easier for the Campylobacter bacteria to attach to the … [Read more...]
Campylobacter’s 2013 Toll: 845,000 Cases, $1 Billion, 162 Deaths
When dozens of Wisconsin high school students developed Campylobacter infections after attending a football team banquet, it didn't take health officials long to trace the source of the illness to raw milk provided by a parent who did not disclose its lack of pasteurization. Raw milk and poultry are often associated with Campylobacter, a pathogen that causes more damage than most people realize. Campylobacter is transmitted when food or beverages contaminated with animal feces are consumed. Symptoms of an infection, called campylobacteriosis, include diarrhea, which is sometimes bloody, abdominal cramping, fever, nausea and vomiting. In rare cases, a complication called Guillain-Barré syndrome can develop. Guillain-Barré causes weakness and paralysis and can occur several weeks after … [Read more...]
Salmonella, Campylobacter Cases Rise in Australia as Overall Food Poisoning Rates Decline
Salmonella and Campylobacter poisoning cases are on the rise in Australia, even as the overall rate of food poisoning there declines, according to a new study. Campylobacter and Salmonella are commonly associated with poultry and dairy products. Food poisoning is common in Australia, where one in five people suffer a bout each year, similar to the U.S. where one in six people are stricken annually. For this study, researchers included 23 pathogens in their analysis of a decade of data from 2000 to 2010. For most of the illnesses, about 80 percent of them, the specific pathogen was unknown. For illnesses where the pathogen was known, 93 percent were attributed to just four pathogens: E.coli, Camplobacter, Salmonella and norovirus. Overall the number of cases of food poising dropped … [Read more...]
GAO Report: USDA Efforts to Protect Consumers from Salmonella, Campylobacter in Poultry Lacking
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service isn't doing enough to protect Americans from poultry contaminated with the pathogens Salmonella and Campylobacter, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). More than 2 million Americans are sickened by Salmonella and Campylobacter every year and poultry contaminated with those pathogens causes more deaths than any other commodity. The report, requested by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in March, outlines four flaws in the USDA's efforts to reduce pathogen contamination of poultry and makes four recommendations to address them. For example, the USDA guidelines to control Salmonella and Campylobacter on poultry farms, … [Read more...]
Raw Milk Campylobacter Illnesses for Second Time at Utah Farm
Campylobacter in raw milk products from Ropelato Dairy in Weber County Utah has caused an outbreak of illness for the second time since 2010. Since May, at least 45 people have become ill after drinking the milk or cream. There have been two cases reported from residents in California and Idaho and 43 cases from Cache, Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Utah and Weber counties in Utah. The farm's license to sell raw milk has been temporarily suspended. In 2010, nine people from Weber, Davis and Cache counties contracted campylobacteriosis after drinking the milk. The farm's license was also temporarily suspended at that time. Symptoms of campylobacteriosis include diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms can last up to a week. “In some severe cases, … [Read more...]
Utah Campylobacter Outbreak Linked to Ropelato Dairy Raw Milk
Public health officials in Utah are investigating an outbreak of Campylobacter illnesses associated with the consumption of raw milk. So far, 45 people have been diagnosed with the infection. Those people said they consumed raw milk the week before they got sick. Cases have been reported from Cache, Davis, Morgan, Salt Lake, Utah, and Weber counties. Two cases have been reported from out of state residents who live in California and Idaho. The illness onset dates range from May 9, 2014 to July 21, 2014. The case patients range in age from 2 to 74 years. All of the cases are linked to the consumption of raw milk or cream purchased at Ropelato Dairy in Weber County. The license of that dairy to sell raw milk was suspended on August 4, 2014 after tests of raw milk samples at the farm … [Read more...]
FSA: Poultry is Most Common Source of Food Poisoning in UK
Poultry is the most common food source of food poisoning in the U.K., according to a new report from the Food Standards Agency (FSA). And, because it is often found in chicken, Campylobacter is the most common foodborne pathogen sickening at least 280,000 people in the U.K. each year. 'These findings will help the FSA to target its resources more effectively in tackling food poisoning. They confirm that the FSA is right to put campylobacter at the top of its priority list. It is the biggest food safety problem we have and more needs to be done to tackle it," said Professor Sarah O'Brien, the study's lead researcher from the University of Liverpool. Second after Campylobacter was Clostridium perfringens with 80,000 cases. Norovirus was third with an estimated 74,000 cases. Although … [Read more...]
USDA to Set New Safety Standards for Campylobacter in Poultry
After the USDA announced they will set new safety standards for Salmonella in poultry, the agency has announced they will set new standards on Campylobacter in chicken products as well. The standards should be released by the end of September, 2014. In a letter sent to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), USDA secretary Tom Vilsack stated that poultry slaughter modernization is a high priority. Consumer groups and food safety advocates have critized that plan, stating that increasing line speeds and turning inspections over to manufacturer's employees is not the best way to improve poultry safety. Senator Feinstein, along with Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) wrote to the USDA in March and April of this year. That letter urged the USDA to establish performance … [Read more...]
Progess Missing from CDC’s Food Safety Progress Report
There isn't much progress in the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Food Safety Progress Report for 2013. The annual report which tracks reported cases of infection from foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli and Campylobacter, shows rates have remained flat in most cases and increased in others. E.coli, Listeria, Salmonella* and Yersinia food poisoning rates have all remained flat since 2006, while rates of infection from Vibrio and Campylobacter have increased. Infections from Campylobacter, which is most often associated with poultry and dairy products, have risen 13 percent since 2006. Vibrio infections, which are most often associated with eating raw shellfish, were at the highest level in 2013 since tracking began in 1996. However, rates of the … [Read more...]
