The Kansas City Missouri Health Department is issuing an alert about the number of reported Shigella cases in that area. This illness is an infectious diarrheal disease caused by the Shigella bacteria. There are usually only about 10 cases of Shigella every year in that city, but since January 1, 2015, there have been more than 190 cases reported to public health officials. That is up from 143 cases reported in late September. And about 60 students at Faxon Elementary School have become ill and may have the illness. The symptoms the children are experiencing are similar to Shigella poisoning. There are actually three different strains in this particular outbreak, making the illness difficult to treat. Shigella bacteria are found in the feces of humans and other primates. The illness, … [Read more...]
Listeria Deaths in Caramel Apple Outbreak Raise Total for Year
One Listeria death for every five cases of listeriosis is the average mortality rate for Listeria food poisoning cases tracked in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is an average that fit the caramel apple Listeria outbreak with the same tragic consequences that health experts saw in other outbreaks of listeriosis in 2014. The seven case patients who died with listeriosis after eating pre-packaged, commercially produced caramel apples lifted last year's Listeria death total in the U.S. to 13, from four outbreaks. State and federal agencies have associated the caramel apple outbreak with fruit supplied by California-based Bidart Brothers Inc. In all, 13 of 50 Listeria outbreak case patients died and one fetal loss was suffered. Not every … [Read more...]
Missouri Links Were Central to Caramel Apple Listeria Outbreak
Five Missouri residents were confirmed as case patients in the Listeria caramel apple outbreak and two Missouri food companies were involved in key recalls of caramel apples that they distributed around the country. Only one other state besides Missouri had more than five listeriosis victims in the outbreak and one of the state's recalls covered caramel apples made by a Missouri company for Kroger stores in many different parts of the country. From the outset of public awareness of this outbreak in mid- to late-December, Missouri citizens and companies were in the discussion. On December 24, 2014, the Happy Apple Company of Washington, Missouri, issued a recall of many Happy Apple Brand caramel apples because they had the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Some … [Read more...]
Caramel Apple Listeria Deaths a Focus of Apple Associations
The California Apple Commission is working with other apple producing states and the U.S. Apple Association regarding the outbreak of listeriosis that state and federal health authorities have associated with commercially produced, pre-packaged caramel apples. In a December 23 newsletter piece about the deadly caramel apple outbreak, the state-authorized commission recapped some details of the investigation, quoting a CDC document that said “at this time, no illnesses related to this outbreak have been linked to apples that are not caramel-coated and not prepackaged or to caramel candy.” As the newsletter stated, the investigation is still working to determine specific brands or types of commercially produced, prepackaged caramel apples that may be linked to the illnesses. So far, … [Read more...]
E. coli 0103 Appears In Northwest MO
In northwest Missouri, one person has a confirmed case of E.coli 0103 infection and two others have suspected cases, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. None of the case patients has been hospitalized and a source of the outbreak has yet to be determined. The investigation is ongoing. In its January 11 announcement of the outbreak, the health department said the illnesses might be related to the consumption of “locally-produced, raw (unpasteurized) dairy products.” But a definite food source has not been confirmed. E. coli O103 is similar to the more common strain E. coli O157:H7 in that it is a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Up until last year, non 0157:H7 STEC were not classified as adulterants in beef, meaning it was legal to sell beef … [Read more...]
MO E. coli Outbreak: Raw Milk Suspected Source
Raw milk is the suspected source of an E.coli outbreak that has sickened several people in northwest Missouri. Raw milk, or milk that has not been pasteurized, can contain E.coli and other disease-causing bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listera, Yersinia and Brucella. For that reason, the sale of raw milk is illegal in many states. In Missouri, it is legal for a farmer to sell raw milk directly to customers of the farm. A bill has been put before the Missouri Legislature to slightly expand a farmer's ability to sell raw milk, allowing a farmer to sell up to 100 gallons of raw milk or raw cream at farmers' markets. Raw milk has not been identified as the definitive source of this outbreak but has been characterized by health officials as "a possible risk … [Read more...]
Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 12 In Missouri
At least 12 people in Missouri are now part of the cantaloupe Salmonella outbreak that has killed two people, sickened more than 140 others in 21 states and hospitalized 32, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The number of confirmed cases in Missouri has increased by three since the outbreak was announced on Friday. As Food Poisoning Bulletin reported today, this outbreak is the third to be linked to cantaloupe in the last 19 months. Last year, the cantaloupe Listeria outbreak linked to Jensen Farms in Holly, Colo., sickened at least 146 people and more than 30 people died. “We need appropriate control measures and the industry hasn’t delivered,’’ national food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker said in a press release today. “How many more people have … [Read more...]
