09 April 2011

ZAPPOLE: SALMONELLA

SALMONELLOSIS - USA (03): (RHODE ISLAND) PASTRY, FATAL
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A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org/>

Date: Fri 8 Apr 2011
Source: News Blog [edited]
<http://newsblog.projo.com/2011/04/second-person-90-dies-in-salmo.html>


A 2nd person has died in the salmonella outbreak linked to DeFusco's
Bakery in Johnston, Rhode Island. The Health Department learned Fri 8
Apr 2011 that a man in his 90s died the previous day in a hospital,
said spokeswoman Annemarie Beardsworth. She declined to identify the
hospital.

The man, who lived in Providence County, reported eating a product
made at DeFusco's, which was purchased on 19 Mar 2011. His symptoms
began on 25 Mar 2011, and he was hospitalized 3 days later. A stool
sample tested positive for _Salmonella_. He was one of the cases the
Health Department had been tracking as part of its outbreak
investigation. He also had underlying health conditions.

The count of people who fell ill with laboratory-confirmed infection
or compatible symptoms between 14 and 28 Mar 2011, considered the time
frame for this outbreak, has now risen to 66. Of those, all but one
reported eating products from DeFusco's, including the other man who
died. The 1st death came on 23 Mar 2011, a man in his 80s who lived in
Providence County. Of the 66 people who got sick, 28 were
hospitalized, an unusually high percentage for an outbreak of
salmonellosis. But no cases have turned up since 28 Mar 2011,
indicating the source of the outbreak is not continuing to make people
ill, Beardsworth said.

The bakery closed down, and its products were recalled, on 25 Mar
2011 after a Health Department inspection found many food-safety
violations. They included storing empty, baked pastry shells in
cardboard boxes that formerly held trays of raw eggs. Tests later
found evidence of the outbreak bacterium in the boxes, probably from
an infected egg that broke.

The Health Department was 1st alerted to the outbreak when 11
nursing-home residents became ill after eating zeppole, a
custard-filled pastry, made by DeFusco's. Neither of the men who died
lived in a nursing home, however. In addition to closing down
DeFusco's, the outbreak has affected business at other bakeries, at
least 2 of which have taken ads assuring their customers that their
products are safe.

YERSINIA: Norwegian lettuce.

PRO/EDR> Yersiniosis, lettuce - Norway
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YERSINIOSIS, LETTUCE - NORWAY
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A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org/>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org/>
Date: Fri 8 Apr 2011
Source: Health Canal [edited]
<http://www.healthcanal.com/public-health-safety/16010-New-cases-yersiniosis-outbreak.html>

Since February 2011, the Reference Laboratory at the Norwegian
Institute of Public Health has identified identical strains of
_Yersinia enterocolitica_ O:9 in 20 patients living in Norway.
Interviews with the patients with yersiniosis led to suspicion of a
particular pre-packaged lettuce mix that was withdrawn from the
market.
Further investigation led to suspicion of several pre-packaged
lettuce mixes purchased in grocery stores. Preliminary investigations
conducted at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute strengthened this
suspicion. The manufacturer has therefore withdrawn a further 9
lettuce mixes from the market. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority
recommends that consumers should not eat these lettuce mixes. The
Norwegian Institute of Public Health is continuing the investigation
in co-operation with the Food Safety Authority and Veterinary
Institute.
Each year, 50-100 cases of yersiniosis are reported to the Norwegian
Institute of Public Health. Most cases occur sporadically and several
cases with a common source rarely occur in Norway.
Yersiniosis is transmitted primarily through food but can transmit
between people in rare cases. The most common symptoms are diarrhea,
fever and abdominal pain, usually lasting for 1-3 weeks. In most
cases, the disease clears up without treatment.
--
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ProMED-mail
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[The 2 species of _Yersinia_ associated with food-borne disease are
_pseudotuberculosis_ and _enterocolitica_. The latter species, as
noted in the posting, can be associated with abdominal pain as a
hallmark symptom. As a mesenteric lymphadenitis, yersiniosis can mimic
appendicitis but may also cause infections of other sites such as
wounds, joints, and the urinary tract.