Outbreaks and Alerts: June 27, 2010

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

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United States

• Atlanta, GA. June 25: CDC reports that 37 people in 18 states are confirmed to have been infected with Salmonella Chester. At least seven people were treated in hospital. The outbreak strain was recovered from an intact package of Marie Callender's Cheesy Chicken and Rice single-serve frozen dinner found in the home of one of the Minnesota outbreak victims.
• Little Rock, AR. June 25: Three cases of severe diarrheal illness have occurred in Saline County this month and have been linked to swimming in the Saline River near the Highway Five Bridge. The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) has tested water from the area and found it to be unsafe for swimming.
• Lincoln, NE. June 25: Nebraska has issued a health alert for toxic blue-green algae at Swan Creek 5A Lake near Tobias in Saline County.
• Juneau, AK. June 25: A middle-aged man from Haines is in hospital in Juneau. The man developed symptoms consistent with Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning after eating Dungeness crab in Haines on Friday.
• Cary, NC. June 26: Forty members of a Cary Baptist church – including members of the pastor's family – developed Norovirus gastroenteritis after 140 members of the congregation shared a potluck lunch last Sunday.
• Glencoe, IL. June 26: Seven cases of Salmonella gastroenteritis have been linked to the Skokie Country Club in Glencoe since June 10. The club voluntarily closed its kitchen on Thursday (June 24). According Amy Poore, spokesperson for the Cook County Department of Health, the seven cases are completely unrelated to the Salmonella Hvittingfoss outbreak that is still under investigation in the state.

Europe

• Harwich, UK. June 25: Eight-six passengers on the Jewel of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) cruise ship were reported to be suffering from Norovirus gastroenteritis when the shipped docked in Harwich on Thursday – the second outbreak reported on the Jewel of the Seas this month. The ship will be thoroughly disinfected before the next group of passengers is allowed to board, according to a Royal Caribbean spokesperson.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Mumbai, India. June 25: Twenty-four children, including a nine-month-old baby, from the Asha Sadan Rescue Home at Umerkhadi were admitted to JJ Hospital, Byculla, on June 24th, following complaints of vomiting and upset stomachs. The children, who were treated at the hospital and released, became ill a couple of hours after eating a dinner that consisted of dal, rice and dudhi halwa.
• Cameroun. June 25: The Ministry of Public Health reports that 23 people have died of cholera and 140 have been confirmed infected with Vibrio cholerae within the last several weeks. The outbreak is centered in seven health districts in the far north of the country.