A Campylobacter outbreak in Pueblo County, Colorado has sickened at least 20 people, according to news releases from El Paso County Public Health and the Pueblo City-County Department of Public Health. Twelve confirmed and eight probable cases of Campylobacter infections have been reported to public health officials since August 1, 2016. The most recent illness onset date was September 16, 2016. All of those sickened reported drinking raw milk from Larga Vista Ranch in Pueblo County. All of those case patients live in Pueblo and El Paso counties. The state health department has notified about 175 people who are participants in the Larga Vista cow share operation on September 8, 2016 about this problem and are doing so again today. These types of operations let people buy a share … [Read more...]
Cryptosporidium Outbreak in NM Associated with Raw Milk
The New Mexico Department of Health says that they are investigating six cases of cryptosporidiosis associated with raw milk products. That illness is caused by the Cryptosporidium parasite. Also investigating the outbreak are the New Mexico Department of Agriculture and the New Mexico Environment Department. Those cases have been reported to the government since August 31, 2016. Each person sickened said they consumed raw milk products before getting sick. All of those sickened live in Bernalillo County. There is no word on any potential recall, or if any of the patients have been hospitalized, their ages, or conditions. Secretary of Health Designate Lynn Gallagher said in a statement, "raw milk products may be contaminated with a variety of infectious pathogens. We are … [Read more...]
Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak Kills 1, Sickens 17 in Hopkins, MN
The Minnesota Department of Health is scrambling to pinpoint the source of a serious outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that has sickened 17 people who had been living, visiting, or working in Hopkins, Minnesota since August 4th. One of these victims has now died. The person who died was elderly and was one of the previously confirmed patients. Doug Schultz of the Minnesota Department of Health confirmed those numbers. All of the cases were exposed before or during the first full week of September 2016, before the outbreak was identified. The victims, all exposed to the potentially fatal Legionella pneumonia bacteria in the Hopkins vicinity, range in age from their 20s to their 90s; most are elderly or have chronic health conditions. Legionella bacteria are commonly found in the … [Read more...]
SM Fish Closed by FDA; Illnesses Linked to Facility
The FDA has suspended the food facility registration of SM Fish Corporation of Far Rockaway, New York after finding Listeria monocytogenes at that location during three different inspections. In addition, whole genome sequencing (WGS) matched one of the strains found at SM Fish to isolates from four people sickened with listeriosis. Anyone with un-expired ready to eat food manufactured by SM Fish should not eat those products. This is an expansion of the July 29, 2016 recall of Ossie's Herring Salads to include all RTE foods from that facility. Ossie's ready to eat seafood salads were also recalled on September for possible Listeria contamination. Listeria was first fond in the facility in 2015 and found Listeria bacteria in 15 of 105 locations swabbed throughout the building. An … [Read more...]
Virginia Hepatitis A Tropical Smoothie Outbreak Grows to 102 Sick
The hepatitis A outbreak in Virginia associated with Tropical Smoothie Cafe has grown to include 102 people. All of those reported consuming a smoothie at Tropical Smoothie Cafe before they got sick. About 37% of those sickened in this outbreak have been hospitalized for their illness because they are so sick. . The 102 ill persons range in age from 14 to 70. The onset of illness dates range from early May through September. The case count by region is: 59 Northern, 15 Northwest, 16 Eastern, 12 Central, 0 Southwest. The CDC says that at least 25 others are sick in this outbreak, which brings the nationwide total to 127. Epidemiologic and traceback evidence indicate that frozen strawberries imported from Egypt used to make the smoothies are the likely source of this outbreak. The … [Read more...]
CDC Confirms E. coli Outbreak in CO, ID, and NY
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed to Food Poisoning Bulletin that the E. coli outbreak in Washington state that is associated with the Matador restaurant also includes patients in three other states. No additional cases have been identified as of Friday, September 16, 2016. Seven people in Washington state are also infected with the same E. coli strain. Lola S. Russell, Senior Health Communications Specialist for the CDC stated, "CDC is assisting the Washington State Department of Health with an investigation related to an E. coli outbreak potentially linked to a Seattle restaurant. Three cases of E. coli with the same DNA fingerprint in three other states (Colorado, Idaho, and New York) are under investigation to determine if they are linked to the … [Read more...]
CDC Updates Tropical Smoothie Hepatitis A Numbers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated the hepatitis A outbreak linked to frozen strawberries that were served at Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations in several states. Their numbers as of September 14, 2016 are 119. But Virginia updated their numbers on September 16, 2016 from 94 to 98, which means there are at least 123 people sickened in this outbreak. The case count by state is: Arkansas (1), Maryland (12), New York (3), North Carolina (1), Oregon (1), Virginia (98), West Virginia (6), and Wisconsin (1). Forty-seven ill persons have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. The hospitalization rate in this outbreak is at 39%, which is about double the usual hospitalization rate in a hepatitis A outbreak. There is no explanation for this number. … [Read more...]
Matador Restaurant Reopens after E. coli Outbreak
King County Public Health has released a statement saying that the Matador restaurant in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle has reopened as of 2:00 pm September 15, 2016. The restaurant has been cleaned and sanitized, and all opened and prepared food was discarded after an E. coli outbreak. That restaurant is associated with an E. coli outbreak that sickened five people in the Seattle area. There are ten people infected with the same strain of E. coli bacteria. Seven of them ate food from the Matador. The other three patients, who all live outside King County, are "not known to have eaten at the Matador." News reports have stated that three of those sickened in King County have been hospitalized. And the others who are sick with the same E. coli strain may live in Colorado, … [Read more...]
E. coli Outbreak Associated with Memo’s Restaurant in Seattle, WA
King County Public Health is investigating two Shiga toxin-producing E coli (STEC) infections that are associated with Memo's Mexican Food restaurant in the University District in Seattle. One person lives in King County; the other does not. The King County resident ate at that restaurant on August 18 and August 24, 2016. The other Washington state resident ate there on August 24, 2016. Public Health received the first report of illness on August 31, 2016. Both persons have recovered. PFGE testing has found that both of the illnesses were caused by the same strain of E. coli bacteria. There is another E. coli outbreak in that county that is associated with the Matador Restaurant in the Ballard Neighborhood of Seattle. The genetic fingerprint for the strain in the Memo's outbreak … [Read more...]
Hawaii Harbor Restaurant Worker Has Hepatitis A
According to the Hawaii State Department of Health, a food worker at Harbor Restaurant on Pier 38 at 1133 North Nimitz Highway in Honolulu, Oahu has been diagnosed with hepatitis A. That person worked at the restaurant from August 26 through September 12, 2016. There is a hepatitis A outbreak in Hawaii that has sickened at least 271 people, but public health officials stress that the Harbor Restaurant is not the source of the outbreak, and no illnesses have been linked to that facility. Still, anyone who ate there on the dates in question may have been exposed to hepatitis A, since the virus is very contagious and easily spread through food and drink. That hepatitis A outbreak has been linked to frozen scallops imported from the Philippines, that were served raw at Genki Sushi … [Read more...]
