Outbreaks and Alerts: September 22, 2010

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

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United States

• Charleston, WV. September 14th: Two Kanawha County elementary schooles have been linked to an outbreak of shigellosis. Two county residents were hospitalized and an additional 15 people – mostly children – were diagnosed with the gastrointestinal infection, after complaining of diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps and vomiting. The illness is transmitted through direct or indirect contact with contaminated fecal material. Anyone who is caring for individuals suffering from shigellosis should take meticulous precautions to wash and disinfect anything (including their hands, bedclothes, utensils, etc.) that might have come into contact with the victim.
• Dickson County, TN. September 16th: A student at Oakmont Elementary School in Dickson County was infected with Shigella and transmitted the infection to her mother, who is now in serious condition and is quarantined in hospital.
• Olympia, WA. September 20th: Residents in Burbank Irrigation District 4 (Walla Walla County) are being advised to drink bottled water, because a significant maintenance project will cause the district to rely on a well with nitrate levels that exceed safe drinking water standards. The project and its associated advisory is expected to last about four weeks.
• Macomb County, MI. September 21st: Baypoint Beach at Stony Creek Metropark has been closed to public swimming due to high levels of E. coli in the water.

Europe

• England and Scotland, UK. September 21st: Health Protection Agency reports that the number of confirmed cases of Salmonella Bareilly infections in England has grown to 68, including 19 cases in the North West of England. Scotland has confirmed 15 cases. Routine testing of salad produced by two wholesalers has identified Group C Salmonella (Salmonella Bareilly belongs to Group C) on some raw bean sprout samples. It has not yet been established, however, whether or not bean sprouts are the source of the outbreak.
• Gorki, Russia. September 21st: Gennady Onishchenko, the chief sanitary inspector of the Russian Federation told a conference on financial stability that the quality of food products in Russia has improved. Onishchenko also pointed to the need to modernize baby food production and to harmonize product quality standards with those of the European Union.
• Szekesfehervar, Hungary. September 22nd: A Salmonella outbreak in 16 nurseries and primary schools in has sickened 181 children since September 8th, according to local health authorities. All of the schools were served by the same central kitchen, and three kitchen staff also have tested positive for Salmonella.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Hyderabad, India. September 20th: Around 50 doctors from the Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad fell sick from food poisoning after consuming tainted sandwiches. The doctors, who had assembled for a continuing education program in gynecology, apparently ate snacks from a bakery. The eatables were purchased from Mac Allen Bakery at Padmarao Nagar.

Australia and New Zealand

• Freemantle, Australia. September 22th: Norovirus has infected 18 people at Freemantle Hospital in Western Australia, forcing the closure of 15 beds.