Three North Carolina Vibrio deaths are linked to going into brackish water, but one patient also ate seafood harvested in those waters that was personally caught and not shared or commercially distributed. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is urging caution. No links have been established between the cases or the areas where they were likely exposed to the pathogen. The press release did not state whether the illnesses were from Vibrio vulnificus or from Vibrio parahaemolyticus, but the were probably the former. Vibrio vulnificus infections are more severe, and one out of five patients infected with that pathogen die. Vibrio are bacteria that live in seawater or brackish water (which is mixed salt and fresh water). Anyone with open wounds, cuts, … [Read more...]
Listeria Outbreak Linked to Leafy Greens Ends With 19 Sick
The Listeria outbreak linked to leafy greens has ended with at least 19 people sick in 16 states, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This outbreak was not solved. No brand or type of product has been linked to these illnesses. This outbreak was last updated on April 21, 2023. The case count by state is: Arkansas (1), California (1), Colorado (1), Illinois (1), Louisiana (1), Michigan (2), Missouri (1), North Carolina (2), Nebraska (1), New York (1), Oklahoma (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Dakota (1), Texas (1), Washington (1), and Wisconsin (2). Samples were collected from July 3, 2018 to March 31, 2023. The patient age range is from less than 1 to 96 years. Eighteen people were hospitalized because they were so sick. State and local public health … [Read more...]
Jif Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak Is Number Five of 2022
The Jif peanut butter Salmonella Senftenberg outbreak is the number five outbreak of 2022, with at least 21 people sick in 17 states. Four people were hospitalized because they were so ill. Several types of Jif peanut butter were recalled after the outbreak was first announced on May 21, 2022. The outbreak ended on July 27, 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The case count by state is: Arizona (1), Arkansas (1), Florida (1), Georgia (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (1), Missouri (2), New York (1), North Carolina (2), Ohio (1), South Carolina (1), Texas (2), Virginia (1), Washington (1), and West Virginia (1). Patients ranged in age from less than one year to 85. The hospitalization rate was 31%, with four out of 13 … [Read more...]
Jif Peanut Butter Salmonella Senftenberg Outbreak Ends
The Jif peanut butter Salmonella Senftenberg outbreak has ended, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with 21 people sick in 17 states. Four people were hospitalized. Jif issued a recall of several types of its peanut butter when the outbreak was announced on May 21, 2022, and there have been about a dozen secondary recalls issued. The five new states added to the outbreak total are Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, and West Virginia. The case count by state is: Arizona (1), Arkansas (1), Florida (1), Georgia (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (1), Missouri (2), New York (1), North Carolina (2), Ohio (1), South Carolina (1), Texas (2), Virginia (1), Washington (1), and West Virginia (1). The patient age range is from less than … [Read more...]
How Does Peanut Butter Get Contaminated With Bacteria?
How does peanut butter get contaminated with bacteria? A Salmonella Senftenberg outbreak linked to recalled Jif peanut butter has sickened at least 16 people in 12 states; two patients have been hospitalized. The case count by state is: Arkansas (1), Georgia (2), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (1), Missouri (2), Ohio (1), South Carolina (1), New York (1), South Carolina (1), North Carolina (2), Texas (2), Virginia (1), and Washington (1). Many recalls have been launched, including some types of the Jif product itself and more than a dozen secondary recalls. While any product can be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria at any time during the supply chain, this outbreak is unusual because the outbreak strain of Salmonella Senftenberg was found in an environmental sample taken from the … [Read more...]
Jif Salmonella Outbreak Case Count Rises to 16 Sick, 2 Hospitalized
The Jif Salmonella outbreak case count has risen to 16 sick with two hospitalized according to the CDC. Those patients live in 12 states. Many types of Jif peanut butter have been recalled, along with more than a dozen secondary recalls. There is one more patient each in the states of Missouri and North Carolina since the last CDC update. The case count by state is: Arkansas (1), Georgia (2), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (1), Missouri (2), Ohio (1), New York (1), South Carolina (1), North Carolina (2), Texas (2), Virginia (1), and Washington (1). The patient age range is from less than one year to 85 years. Of nine people who gave information to investigators, two have been hospitalized. Illness onset dates range from February 19, 2022 through May 2, 2022. This Jif Salmonella … [Read more...]
California Hepatitis Cases Added to List of Severe Illness Reports
California has ben added to the list of states reporting severe child hepatitis cases, joining Alabama, Illinois, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. There are seven California hepatitis cases, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The World Health Organization has received reports of at least 169 cases of severe pediatric hepatitis, mostly from Europe. In the United States, there are least 25 cases: nine in Alabama, two in North Carolina, three in Illinois, four in Wisconsin, and seven in California. So far there has been one death in Wisconsin, and four of these children have needed liver transplants. In most of these cases, the children had gastrointestinal symptoms before jaundice appeared. No common exposure has been found, but doctors think that adenovirus is a cofactor. … [Read more...]
Possible Hepatitis A Exposure at Waffle House in Concord, North Carolina
A possible hepatitis A exposure at a Waffle House restaurant, which is located at 1010 Vinehaven Drive Northeast in Concord, North Carolina, has been reported by the Cabarrus Health Alliance. That facility is on Exit 60 off Interstate 85. A worker at that restaurant may have worked while infectious with hepatitis A. Anyone who visited that restaurant and bought and ate food there on June 20, 2021 between the hours of 9:00 pm and 12:00 am, or on June 21, 2021 between the hours of 12:00 am and 7:00 am may have been exposed. The window for getting a vaccination is just two weeks after exposure. That means that anyone who ate there on June 21, 2021 must get vaccinated today. You may ask your doctor about getting vaccinated if you ate there on June 20. The hepatitis A vaccine is … [Read more...]
Gaston County Hepatitis A Outbreak Warning in North Carolina
Officials are warning the public about a Gaston County hepatitis A outbreak that may have started in the homeless and drug using population but now has spread to the general public and includes some people who were sickened after eating at food businesses. The Gaston County Health Department in North Carolina urged vaccination against this virus last month. According to the Gaston Gazette, a huge spike in cases has occurred in just the first three months of 2021. There were just 33 cases in the county from 2018 to 2020, but more than 120 cases of hepatitis A have been diagnosed this year so far. Officials would not name the businesses that may be involved in this outbreak. And more than 70% of these cases have required hospitalization. Hepatitis A can seriously damage the liver, … [Read more...]
NC Harris Teeter AFC Sushi Linked to Food Poisoning Outbreak in Concord
North Carolina Harris Teeter AFC sushi is linked to a food poisoning outbreak, according to a press release issued by the Cabarrus Health Alliance (CHA) in Concord, North Carolina. The Harris Teeter stores in question are located at 358 George W. Liles Parkway Northwest in Concord, and 1245 Concord Parkway North, also in Concord, North Carolina. When the press release was first issued four days ago, there were "more than 10 individuals" who were sick. But according to news reports, now as many as 128 people may be ill. Those 128 people belong to 85 households. Harris Teeter is using their loyalty card program to notify 429 households that they purchased that during during the timeframe in question. More than 100 transactions were made without a loyalty card, however. The sushi … [Read more...]
