Yourlawyer.com (Shigella News)

Baby Carrots Recalled for Possible Shigella Contamination

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Baby carrots that could be contaminated with Shigella bacteria are being recalled by the Los Angeles Salad Company, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced today. The recall of the company’s “Genuine Sweet Baby Carrots” was initiated after some of the product tested positive for Shigella in Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said that four incidences of the disease in that country have been linked to the carrots.

The Shigella infection lasts up to 14 days and can cause bloody diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting.   The infection can occur when someone eats or drinks contaminated food or water, and Shigella be spread from person to person if an infected person does not wash their hands thoroughly.   Food contaminated with Shigella will not look spoiled or have an unusual odor.

The FDA said that the carrots were sold in packages with two labels.   “Los Angeles Salad Genuine Sweet Baby Carrots” were distributed by Kroger Co. King Sooper stores in Colorado; Kroger Co. King Ralph’s in California; and Publix supermarkets in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and Florida.   All of those carrots were sold in 7 and 8 ounce flexible plastic bags and had “sell by dates” up to and including August 16, 2007.

The other carrots were sold under the label “Trader Joe’s Genuine Sweet Baby Carrots” in 7 ounce flexible bags. The baby carrots were sold in Trader Joe’s stores in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.   The bags bear “sell by dates” up to and including August 8, 2007.

The Centers for Disease Control says that about 18,000 cases of Shigella are reported each year. However, mild cases of the disease might not be reported, so the number could be much higher. Children, especially toddlers, are the most likely to get Shigella because they do not always wash their hands properly, and many cases of the disease originate at day cares and preschools. Though Shigella can be treated with antibiotics, the disease can be dangerous for the very young or old, and for those with weakened immune systems.

The FDA said that the recall was precautionary, and that no cases of Shigella related to the Los Angeles Salad Company’s baby carrots had yet been reported in the United States. Customer’s who purchased the company’s “Genuine Sweet Baby Carrots” should return the product to the store where it was purchased for a refund. Consumers with questions may contact the Los Angeles Salad Company at 1-626-322-9017.

CDC says some foodborne illnesses rose in 2006

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Preliminary data from 2006 show that foodborne illnesses caused by Escherichia coli and Vibrio rose, while cases caused by other pathogens leveled off or slowly declined, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today.

The data come from the CDC's FoodNet surveillance system, which covers about 15% of the US population and collects information from 10 states. A report detailing the 2006 findings appears in the Apr 13 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Increases in E coli cases over the past 2 years have erased declines that occurred in 2003 and 2004 when beef-processing safety measures took effect, and the number of Vibrio infections rose to its highest level since FoodNet surveillance began in 1996.

CDC director Julie Gerberding, who introduced the report today at a press conference, said the results show that more work needs to be done on the food safety front, particularly in the fresh-produce industry, which in 2006 had nationwide outbreaks involving spinach, tomatoes, and lettuce. "We need ongoing work to reduce exposure of our produce to E coli O157," she said.

Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC's division of foodborne, bacterial, and mycotic diseases, told reporters that to reduce fresh produce–related illnesses, the industry should follow the example of the meat industry, which saw outbreaks decrease after it developed a set of food safety engineering principles.

"The meat industry shared information among themselves, in a noncompetitive arena, about what was successful," he said.

The CDC uses FoodNet data to assess national trends in foodborne illness. The agency compares each year's disease outbreak totals with data from 1996 through 1998, the first 3 years of FoodNet's surveillance program. The CDC noted that Campylobacter, Listeria, Shigella, and Yersina infections continued a slow decline from that baseline period, though most of the decrease occurred between 1999 and 2002.

FoodNet surveillance identified a total of 17,252 laboratory-confirmed foodborne infections in 2006. Salmonella accounted for 6,655 cases, about 39% of the total. There were 5,712 Campylobacter cases, about 33% of the total. The CDC reports 2,736 Shigella cases, 859 Cryptosporidium cases, and 590 cases of Shiga toxin–producing E coli (STEC) O157. The rest of the cases included STEC non-O157 (209), Yersinia (158), Vibrio (154), Listeria (138), and Cyclospora (41).

The FoodNet system recorded 71 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a life-threatening complication of E coli O157 infections, among children in 2005, the latest data available, which is up from 44 cases in 2004.

Compared with the CDC's 2005 report, the new report shows little change in illness rates for many of the pathogens FoodNet tracks. The rate of salmonellosis cases in 2006 was 14.81 per 100,000 people, compared with 14.55 in 2005. The 2006 and 2005 incidence rates for others are as follows: Campylobacter, 12.71 and 12.72; Shigella, 6.09 and 4.67; Cryptosporidium, 1.91 and 2.95; and E coli O157, 1.31 and 1.06.

To adjust for the increase in the FoodNet surveillance area since 1996, the CDC uses a statistical model to estimate the changes in rates of foodborne infections since the baseline period. Estimated declines include 50% for Yersinia, 35% for Shigella, 34%, for Listeria, and 30% for Campylobacter. Incidences of Cryptosporidium and E coli did not change significantly from baseline.

The incidence of Salmonella infections did not decrease from baseline, though the CDC noted some changes in the serotypes identified: S Typhimurimum decreased significantly (41%), but significant increases were seen for S Enteritidis (28%), S Newport (42%), and S Javiana (92%).

Among the notable changes, the rate of Vibrio infections compared to baseline was up dramatically in 2006 at 78%, compared to 41% in 2005. Of the 147 cases recorded by FoodNet in 2006, 94 (64%) were parahaemolyticus isolates.

Craig Hedberg, PhD, a foodborne disease expert and associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told CIDRAP News that he didn't see many striking changes in the 2006 FoodNet report. Some of the increase in E coli O157 infections could be linked to the nationwide outbreaks, he said, but other environmental issues could be contributing to the problem.

The higher than normal S Javiana incidence could suggest that there may be some risk related to produce, Hedberg said, noting that the strain has been associated with previous tomato-linked outbreaks.

It's not clear what the higher incidence of S Enteritidis cases means, he said, noting that the predominant phage type is associated with chicken meat, rather than eggs. "Chicken is one of the most commonly eaten foods, so given the widespread consumption, a small problem with food handling, either in the restaurant or in personal kitchens, can translate into larger volume issues," Hedberg said.

Shigella Foodborne Illness Health Ailment Injury Lawyer

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Have You Experienced Shigella?

Each year, an estimated 18,000 cases of shigellosis are reported in the United States. Because many milder cases are not diagnosed or reported, the actual number of infections may be twenty times greater. Shigellosis is more common in summer than winter. Children, especially toddlers aged 2 to 4, are the most likely to get shigellosis. Many cases are related to the spread of illness in child-care settings, and many more are the result of the spread of the illness in families with small children.

Shigella is a genus of bacteria that can cause rapid and severe diarrhea in humans. Shigella thrives in the human intestine and is commonly spread both via food and by person-to-person contact. Shigellosis is the name of the disease that Shigella causes. The illness is also known as bacillary dysentery. The Shigella germ is actually a family of bacteria that can cause diarrhea in humans. They are microscopic living creatures that pass from person to person. The Shigella bacteria pass from one infected person to the next. Shigella are present in the diarrheal stools of infected persons while they are sick and for a week or two afterwards. Most Shigella infections are the result of the bacterium passing from stools or soiled fingers of one person to the mouth of another person.

This happens when basic hygiene and handwashing habits are inadequate. It is particularly likely to occur among toddlers who are not fully toilet-trained. Family members and playmates of such children are at high risk of becoming infected. Shigella infections may be acquired from eating contaminated food. Contaminated food may look and smell normal. Infected food handlers who forget to wash their hands with soap after using the bathroom may contaminate food. Vegetables can become contaminated if they are harvested from a field with sewage in it. Flies can breed in infected feces and then contaminate food. Shigella infections can also be acquired by drinking or swimming in contaminated water. Water may become contaminated if sewage runs into it, or if someone with shigellosis swims in it.

Diagnosis
Many different varieties of diseases can cause diarrhea and bloody diarrhea, and the treatment depends on which germ is causing the diarrhea. Determining that Shigella is the cause of the illness depends on laboratory tests that identify Shigella in the stools of an infected person. These tests are sometimes not performed unless the laboratory is instructed specifically to look for the organism. The laboratory can also do special tests to tell which type of Shigella the person has and which antibiotics, if any, would be best to treat it.

Treatment
Shigellosis can typically be treated with antibiotics. The antibiotics commonly used for treatment are Ampicillin, Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (also known as Bactrim or Septra), Nalidixic acid, or Ciprofloxacin. Appropriate treatment kills the Shigella bacteria that might be present in the patient's stools, and shortens the illness. Unfortunately, some Shigella bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics and using antibiotics to treat shigellosis can actually make the germs more resistant in the future.

If you or a loved one experienced Shigella, a foodborne illness as a result of eating contaminated food, you may be entitled to compensation, please fill out the form at the right for a free case evaluation.