Outbreaks and Alerts: September 28, 2010

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

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United States

• Montpelier, VT. September 27th: Vermont Department of Health district offices have received replacement shipments of Similac and Isomil liquid infant formulas, which can be used as substitutes for the powdered infant formulas that were recalled recently by Abbott.
• King County, WA. September 27th: The Department of Health has ended the boil water advisory for the East King County water system that serves Riverbend Homesites.
• Sacramento, CA. September 28th: California became the largest state to limit the toxic metal cadmium in children's jewelry after Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a new bill into law that will limit cadmium in jewelry for children six-years old and under to no more than 0.03% starting in 2012.
• Silver Spring, MD. September 28th: FDA warns Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Inc., Walgreen Company and CVS Corporation to stop making unproven claims on mouth rinses. The three companies claimed that their sodium fluoride-containing mouth rinse products were effective at removing plaque above the gum line and promoting healthy gums. According to FDA, these claimed benefits have not been proven.

Canada

• Ottawa, ON. September 28th: Health Canada reminds Canadians of the importance of adhering to good food safety practices while home canning.
• Sudbury, ON. September 28th: Sudbury Regional Hospital reports six cases of Clostridium difficile on the sixth floor of its South Tower. Visitor restrictions are in effect for the six patients, and enhanced infection control procedures have been initiated.

Europe

• UK. September 27th: The Health Protection Agency has identified 97 cases of Salmonella Bareilly in England since the beginning of August; Scotland is investigating a further 17 lab-confirmed cases. The source of the outbreak is not yet known; however, one possibility is bean sprouts. A small number of samples have tested positive for Salmonella, but it has not been determined whether the Salmonella recovered from bean sprouts is Salmonella Bareilly. The investigation is ongoing.
• Lothians, Scotland. September 28th: Thirty-three pupils and 30 staff members at Saltersgate Special Needs School were stricken with severe vomiting and diarrhea. Norovirus – sometimes called the winter vomiting bug – is suspected to be the cause of the outbreak.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Ndola, Zambia. September 27th: Two suspected cases of typhoid were recorded by the Ndola District Health Management Team last week. A similar outbreak took place in the neighboring city of Kitwe one month ago.
• Davao City, Philippines. September 28th: Residents of Barangay Alejal of Carmen received a pleasant surprise: purified drinking water for the neighborhood's 550 families.
• Manila, Philippines. September 28th: The Department of Health is checking a report that two residents of Caloocan City have died due to complications from cholera. At least eleven more people have become infected with the disease.

Latin America and the Caribbean

• Piura, Peru. September 28th: Thirty-six people were diagnosed with salmonellosis after eating grilled chicken in a restaurant in the Sullana shopping center. The manager of Maxi Bodega, where the incident took place, suggested that the problem was not the chicken, but may have been the dressings or sauces and has sent samples for lab analysis. Maxi Bodega has been in touch with patients and will cover the costs of their care.