The CDC's Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report Note's From the Field this week focuses on a Clostridium perfringens outbreak at a catered lunch in Connecticut in 2016. Nineteen people out of the fifty who attended the lunch were sickened. This outbreak was not shared with the public. The Connecticut Department of Public health was notified about this outbreak in September 2016. They started gathering information, including asking those who attended the event fill out an online survey. Patients started experiencing abdominal pain and/or diarrhea about 24 hours or less after attending the lunch. Most of the patients reported diarrhea, abdominal pain, and headache. The median interval from lunch to illness onset was 5.3 hours. Analysis of the food exposures reported by 16 ill … [Read more...]
Salmonella Outbreak at Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill in New Haven, CT
A Salmonella outbreak at Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill at 1158 Whalley Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut is being investigated by the Connecticut Department of Public Health. The restaurant has voluntarily closed while public health officials are looking at the outbreak. The owner is cooperating with the investigation. Officials are asking that anyone who ate at that restaurant during the month of June, 2017, and has been ill with fever, nausea, diarrhea, and/or vomiting should see their doctors. If you are sick with those symptoms, do not prepare food or drinks for others. Wash your hands well with soap and water frequently to prevent spreading the illness. There is no word on how many people have been sickened, or if anyone has been hospitalized. There is also no word on if the … [Read more...]
FDA On Vulto Creamery Ouleout Cheese Listeria Outbreak
The FDA has released information about its investigation into the deadly Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to recalled Vulto raw milk soft cheeses. Ouleout cheese from that dairy in Walton, New York has been identified as the "likely source" of the outbreak that has sickened six people in four states. Two of those six people have died. The FDA, CDC, and state government agencies have been investigating this outbreak since January 31, 2017. Ouleout cheese from Vulto Creamery tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes bacteria in early March, and the company began contacting its customers, asking them to return the product. On March 7, 2017, Vulto recalled that cheese along with Miranda, Heinennellie, and Willowemoc cheese varieties. Then, on March 8, 2017, the FDA was told that … [Read more...]
Two Dead, Six Ill in Vulto Raw Milk Cheese Listeria Outbreak
The CDC has announced a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak is linked to soft raw milk cheese produced by Vulto Creamery in Walton, New York. Two people have died and six are sickened in this outbreak. The case count by state is: New York (3), Florida (1), Vermont (1), and Connecticut (1). Illnesses began on September 1, 2016. All six patients were hospitalized. One person from Connecticut and one person from Vermont died. One illness was reported in a newborn. Infants can be born with Listeria monocytogenes infections when their mothers eat products contaminated with the bacteria. The bacteria can pass through the placenta because the mother's immune system response attacks the placenta. The outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes was identified in samples taken from three intact … [Read more...]
E. coli O157 Outbreak Associated with Goat Dairy Farm Visits in 2016
The CDC has published a study about E. coli O157 infections that were associated with goat dairy farm visits in Connecticut in 2016 in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. A cluster of seven culture-confirmed Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection were identified by the Connecticut Department of Public Health on March 24, 2016. All seven patients had bloody diarrhea. Three of them were hospitalized, and two developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Six of the seven sickened visited the same goat dairy farm in southeastern Connecticut the week before they got sick. In all, a total of 50 confirmed E. coli cases were associated with the outbreak, including 47 who had an epidemiologic link to the goat farm. Of the 50 confirmed cases, three did not have an … [Read more...]
Oak Leaf Dairy Farm CT E. coli Outbreak Grows to 41 Sick
The E. coli O157 outbreak linked to the Oak Leaf Dairy Farm in Lebanon, Connecticut has now grown to include 41 confirmed cases. The patients range in age from 9 months to 45 years, with a median age of five years. The patients include seven adults and 34 children under the age of 18. Twenty-two of the sick children are age five or under. Ten patients have been hospitalized in this outbreak. One person is still in the hospital. Three of the hospitalized children have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication of a shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection that can cause kidney failure and death. Two of the three children with HUS have recovered. The investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Connecticut Department of Public … [Read more...]
E. coli Outbreak Linked to Oak Leaf Farm in CT Grows
The Connecticut State Department of Public Health (DPH) issued an update on the E. coli outbreak linked to Oak Leaf Farm in Lebanon. As of 1:00 p.m. on March 28, 2016, there are 15 confirmed cases of E. coli O157 infection. The number of cases could increase in the next few days. DPH is actively identifying people who were not initially included in the outbreak count. Fourteen of those cases are linked to the farm. The patients range in age from 1 year to 44 years old, with a median age of six. Five patients have been hospitalized, and three are still in the hospital. Two of those hospitalized patients have been diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Children are most susceptible to this complication of an E. coli infection, but the report did not state how old those patients … [Read more...]
