Outbreaks and Alerts: June 14, 2010

A daily digest of international outbreaks, alerts and food safety news

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Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. June 11: A group of over 100 tourists was hospitalized with food poisoning in Binh Thuan Province on June 10. On June 9, the tourists ate at a food fair organized by Suoi Cat Company in Suoi Cat Tourist Area. Afterwards, they dined at Dai Duong Restaurant. At midnight, many of them got serve stomachaches and diarrhea and began vomiting. They then took taxis to the hospital.
• Beijing, China. June 14: A top official at China's food and drug safety watchdog has been sacked and is under investigation, state media said, three years after the agency's former head was executed for corruption. Zhang Jingli, deputy chief of China's State Food and Drug Administration, is being investigated for "suspected serious disciplinary violations," the official Xinhua news agency reported.
• Taipei, Taiwan. June 14: A patient, who in previous years suffered from indigestion, had been having stomach pain and the desire to vomit after eating several rice dumplings within a couple of days, the Central News Agency reported yesterday. The source of the problem is not known. Spoilage and gluten intolerance are two possibilities offered in the news report.
• Taipei, Taiwan. June 14: A woman working in direct sales died of what was diagnosed to be drug-induced acute hepatitis, after eating five types of health supplements she sold. The woman, when admitted to hospital, was suffering from liver failure, which resulted in her blood being unable to coagulate.
• Gujarat, India. June 14: More than 28 cases of gastroenteritis have been reported in the area in the last three days. Residents are blaming contaminated drinking water for the outbreak of diarrhea and vomiting.
• Kayunga, Uganda. June 14: A total 15 people have died of cholera in Kawongo village, Kayunga District while 30 others have been admitted. Several residents have vacated the village.

Australia and New Zealand

• Wellington, New Zealand. June 15: Giardia cases have risen almost 50 per cent nationwide in the past three months, with concerns about an outbreak in the Wellington region.