Outbreaks and Alerts: July 15, 2010

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

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United States

• Oregon. July 15: A health advisory prompted by high algae levels found in Diamond Lake, located seven miles north of Crater Lake National Park on Highway 138, was issued today by Oregon Public Health and Douglas County Health Department officials.
• Oregon. July 15: A health advisory prompted by high algae levels found in Willow Creek Reservoir located near Heppner, Ore., was issued today by Oregon Public Health.
• Kentucky. July 15: An investigation by the Kentucky attorney general's office confirms high levels of lead in jewelry sold in the commonwealth, according to a consumeraffairs.com report.
• Kenosha, WI. July 15: Barfblog reports that the number of confirmed cases of Salmonella illness has risen to 26. The health department has not pinpointed a single source of the outbreak, although it has closed Baker Street Restaurant and Pub on Green Bay Road in Kenosha and is testing employees.
• Richfield, WI. July 15: DCI Cheese Company's Green Bay facility has been recognized for meeting or exceeding the standards of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) as defined by GFSI's official benchmarking procedure. DCI's Santa Rosa, CA facility was certified by GFSI in March of this year.

Canada

• Grey Bruce Health Unit, ON. July 14: Beach water sampling from July 12, 2010 at Black Creek Beach (also known as Old Woman River), Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula, shows levels exceeding Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care standards for acceptable bacterial levels. The beach has been posted unsafe for swimming.
• Aylmer, QC. July 15: The City of Gatineau is asking Aylmer residents to boil their water after a power outage Wednesday night deprived the sector of the city of water for several hours. The "boil water" order will be in effect for at least 48 hours.

Europe

• Nizhny Novgoro, Russia. July 14: At least 18 people in Uren, including 13 children aged from 4 months to 16 years, were hospitalized with acute enteric infection in the period from July 7 through July 11. Nineteen additional people have sought treatment for symptoms of Norovirus infection since then. Health authorities suspect that the outbreak might have been caused by a malfunction of the urban water supply system and violations of sanitary norms.
• Donetsk, Ukraine. July 15: Sixty-four people, including 7 children have been poisoned as a result of consuming mushrooms so far this year, compared to 34 people in the same period of last year. Eleven deaths have been linked to toxic mushrooms this year.
• Cawthorne, England. July 15: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has confirmed that it is investigating a small number of cases of E. coli O157 illness that may be linked to Cawthorne's Cannon Hall Farm. Staff at the farm are handing out leaflets to visitors, asking that children under the age of six not be allowed to touch the animals.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Hanoi, Vietnam. July 15: Many of the locally produced "fresh" milk drinks on sale in the country are actually produced from powdered milk – despite producers claims to the contrary, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Competition Control Department.
• Sohag, Egypt. July 15: At least 70 people were hospitalized with food poisoning after consuming ice cream beverages sold by street vendors.
• Ludhiana, India. July 15: Twenty-one people have been hospitalized with gastroenteritis. Two are in critical condition. Contaminated water is blamed for the outbreak.
• Shimla, India. July 15: An outbreak of diarrhea affecting 77 people has been reported. Seventeen people were admitted at IGMC Shimla hospital, 38 people were treated as out patient cases at Civil Dispensary Sanjouli and 16 people were treated at Rippon (DDU) hospital.
• Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. July 15: Ho Chi Minh City and other districts in the southern part of Vietnam have reported 103 cases of cholera so far this year.
• United Arab Emirates. July 15: Workers in a factory restaurant each were fined AED 500 for having caused the food poisoning of 75 employees of the factory who ate lunch at the restaurant.