The headlines about Shigella have taken a sharp turn. For most of my career the bug showed up in the news the way I knew it best — a daycare outbreak, a sick restaurant worker, a batch of contaminated produce. Lately the headlines read more like something out of an STI clinic: “sexually transmitted superbug,” “drug-resistant Shigella spreading among […]
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is investigating 20 confirmed cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) from people who visited Lake Anna in Virginia over the Memorial Day weekend. The VDH is still investigating all potential sources of the outbreak. The health authority stated that five people developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), which can lead to […]
I am lucky to have an epidemiologist on staff. Perhaps Fresh Start needs one too. Let me make a prediction, Fresh Start will eat its press release because the FDA will find more cucumbers that test positive for either Africana, Braenderup or Bareilly in states other than Pennsylvania and there will be more clinical (human) […]
The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with state and local partners, are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Africana infections potentially linked to cucumbers. Based on epidemiological information collected by CDC for the Salmonella Africana investigation, as of June 12, 196 people infected with the outbreak strain of SalmonellaAfricana have been reported from 28 states and the District of Columbia. Of […]
The FDA and CDC do not rest in protecting us.
Sources, Characteristics and Identification E. coli is an archetypal commensal bacterial species that lives in mammalian intestines. E. coli O157:H7 is one of thousands of serotypes Escherichia coli.[1] The combination of letters and numbers in the name of the E. coli O157:H7 refers to the specific antigens (proteins which provoke an antibody response) found on the body and tail or flagellum[2] respectively and […]
The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with state and local partners, announced last week that they are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Africana infections potentially linked to cucumbers. Based on epidemiological information collected by CDC for the Salmonella Africana investigation, as of June 4, 162 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Africana have been reported from 25 states and the District of Columbia. Of […]
Virginia Department of Health is Investigating a Cluster of E. coli Illness in the Lake Anna area over the Memorial Day weekend The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is investigating a cluster of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses in people who were in the Lake Anna area over the Memorial Day weekend. Some of the ill people have […]
Yesterday the FDA and CDC, in collaboration with state and local partners, announced that they are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Africana infections potentially linked to cucumbers. Based on epidemiological information collected by CDC for the Salmonella Africana investigation, as of June 4, 162 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Africana have been reported from 25 states and the District of Columbia. Of […]
In April 2013 the CDC and their state and local partners and the FDA, investigated an outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul Infections linked to consumption of imported cucumbers. In total, there were 84 outbreak associated cases residing in 18 states. Among persons for whom information was available, illness onset dates ranged from January 12, 2013 to April 28, […]
As of June 4, a total of 162 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Africana have been reported from 25 states and the District of Columbia. Illnesses started on dates ranging from March 11, 2024, to May 16, 2024. Of 127 people with information available, 54 have been hospitalized and 0 deaths have […]
The FDA and CDC are investigating a new outbreak of infections caused by Salmonella Braenderup. The outbreak may be related to an ongoing outbreak of Salmonella Africana infections. Both could be related to fresh cucumbers. As of the posting of the new outbreak on June 5, 158 confirmed patients are infected with Salmonella Braenderup, according […]
Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc. has recalled cucumbers grown in Florida and distributed to retail distribution centers, wholesalers, and food service distributors in AL, FL, GA, IL, MD, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, and WV from May 17th through May 21st, 2024. This product should no longer be available for sale to consumers in […]
Largest Ever Monetary Criminal Penalty in Food Safety Matter Family Dollar Stores LLC pleaded guilty today to holding food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics under insanitary conditions, related to a rodent infestation at the company’s West Memphis, Arkansas, distribution center. A criminal information unsealed today in federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, charged Family Dollar […]
As Annette Martin prepared a salad with Romaine lettuce, she had no way of knowing that it had been contaminated with E. coli. She, like most other Americans, trusted that the country’s food safety system would keep her safe. But within days of eating that salad, Martin was deathly ill. The Arizona-grown lettuce sickened 210 […]
Over the last weeks the FDA has been posting increasing numbers of illnesses linked to an unknown food product. As of last count there were at least 141 sickened, but that number is likely larger according to the NCBI database (see below). Today a multistage recall of cucumbers was initiated. Fresh Start Produce Sales Inc. […]