Outbreaks and Alerts: August 10, 2010

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

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United States

• Grand Island, NY. August 8: Four people were hospitalized with food poisoning symptoms after eating cookies at the River Oaks Marina on Grand Island Saturday night. The Erie County sheriff's office is investigating.
• Silver Spring, MD. August 9: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning U.S. and international customers who may have purchased frozen mice from Biggers and Callaham LLC, doing business as MiceDirect, that these products, which are used as food for reptiles, have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Neither FDA nor the company has released information on which countries received the frozen reptile food.
• Mobile, AL. August 9: State Health Officer Dr. Donald E. Williamson announces the reopening of portions of Areas I, II and III of Mobile Bay that were temporarily closed to the harvesting of oysters on June 1, 2010.
• Grand County, CO. August 10: Last week the Public Health Department of Grand County, Colorado announced that a local food worker had tested positive for Hepatitis A. The worker prepared food at two local restaurants, Max and T's as well as Sagebrush BBQ and Grill. The Department recommends that anyone who has not already received a Hepatitis A vaccine series and ate at Max and T's between July 26 and July 30, or at Sagebrush BBQ and Grill between July 24 and August 3 receive a Hepatitis A vaccination within 14 days of their meal.
• Columbia, SC. August 10: A swimming advisory has been issued for a section of beach in Colleton County due to high bacterial levels. The affected area includes the stretch of beach from Edisto Street south to Ebb Tide Street.
• Baton Rouge, LA. August 10: Three hundred and sixty-one oil spill exposure-related cases have been reported to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) since April 18, 2010, according to its tenth surveillance report released today. Two hundred and seventy-seven of those cases involved workers on oil rigs or workers involved in the oil spill clean-up efforts, while 84 were reported by the general public.

Canada

• Orillia, ON. August 10: An outbreak has been declared at Soldiers' Memorial Hospital following reports of seven hospital-acquired cases of Clostridium difficile in July and an additional three cases so far in August. The hospital typically experiences just one to three cases per month.

Europe

• Celorio, Spain. August 10: A number of cases of gastroenteritis have been reported in recent days. The symptoms, which include malaise, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, typically last approximately 24 hours. The source of the illnesses is not known, but bottled water consumption has soared.
• Dublin, Ireland. August 10: Republic of Ireland football manager Giovanni Trapattoni could miss Wednesday's match against Argentina after being hospitalised for suspected food poisoning. Trapattoni is blaming shellfish that he ate in Italy.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Hong Kong/Bangkok. August 9: The Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection is investigating a suspected food poisoning case involving 15 members of a tour group and reminded people to observe good personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent food-borne diseases. The people affected, 13 females and two males aged between four and 62, were members of a tour group visiting Thailand. They developed gastroenteritis symptoms including diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting after having dinner in Bangkok on August 7.

Latin America and the Caribbean

• Yucatán, Mexico. August 10: Two more children have been reported to be infected with hepatitis A virus, bringing the total this summer to 10 cases. The source of the virus is thought to be contaminated water.