Outbreaks and Alerts: November 26, 2010

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

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United States

• Franklin, WI. November 24th: At least 20 attendees at a wedding came down with symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps according to the Franklin Health Department. The wedding reception, which took place at the Polish Center of Wisconsin, was catered by Jack Norman Catering of South Milwaukee. The State Lab of Hygiene is testing samples to try to determine the source of the outbreak.
• Miami, FL. November 25th: Health officials late Thursday (Nov 25th) were investigating the possibility that a passenger suffering from cholera arrived at Miami International Airport on a flight from Haiti. The passenger was ill during the flight and told airline officials that he was a doctor who had been treating cholera patients in Haiti.

Europe

• Deleitosa, Spain. November 25th: Deleitosa has been without a municipal water supply for five months – ever since the Extremadura Health Service detected high levels of E. coli in the water system.
• Cardiff, Wales. November 26th: More than 300 children and staff at Meadowlane Primary School in St. Mellons have been screened for hepatitis A after two students at the school were diagnosed with the viral disease. Those in close contact with the two ill pupils and their families have been offered a vaccination.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Agago, Uganda. November 24th: Two more people have died in an outbreak of dysentery that now has claimed 15 lives. Three more people have been quarantined after exhibiting symptoms of the disease.
• Beijing, China. November 25th: Only 40 percent of melamine-tainted dairy drinks recently found in Central China's Hunan province have been recovered, and authorities are still hunting for the remainder, according to the local food safety commission.
• Hong Kong. November 26th: According to the findings of a risk assessment study conducted by the Centre for Food Safety to assess the safety of melamine-ware available on local food premises, all the samples tested were found safe for normal food use.
• Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. November 26th: The cholera outbreak continues to spread, with fears that more than 100 villagers may have died. Cholera on Daru Island has caused 870 illnesses and 32 deaths since the onset of the recent outbreak.

Australia and New Zealand

• Lake Wiritoa, New Zealand. November 26th: A health warning has been issued over high levels of potentially toxic blue-green algae in the lake. People are advised not to use the water for recreational purposes, and should not allow their pets to come into contact with the water.

Latin America and the Caribbean

• Veracruz, Mexico. November 24th: An outbreak of Hepatitis A infections has been reported in the municipality of Filomeno Mata. The illnesses are blamed on sewage-contaminated drinking water.
• Port-au-Prince, Haiti. November 26th: The cholera death toll in Haiti has risen to 1,603 according to government officials; more than 30,000 patients have been hospitalized for treatment, of which 26,890 recovered and were discharged.