Fresh Produce Discussion Blog

Created by The Packer's National Editor Tom Karst

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Fw: [BITES-L] bites Aug. 11/10

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile


From: Doug Powell <dpowell@KSU.EDU>
Sender: Bites <BITES-L@LISTSERV.KSU.EDU>
Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:58:22 -0500
To: BITES-L@LISTSERV.KSU.EDU<BITES-L@LISTSERV.KSU.EDU>
ReplyTo: Doug Powell <dpowell@KSU.EDU>
Subject: [BITES-L] bites Aug. 11/10


bites Aug. 11/10

PHILIPPINES: Food poisoning downs 7 in Cotabato

Family outbreak of Shiga Toxin–producing Escherichia coli O123:H–, France, 2009

He may know molecular but he don't know noro; Fat Duck restaurant ranked 1

Miami Dolphins Spitler stricken with salmonella

Fast food drives Americans crazy; Ohio woman wants her Chicken McNuggets

Detection of norovirus in mouthwash samples from patients with acute gastroenteritis

Pulsed field, PCR ribotyping and multiplex PCR analysis of Yersinia enterocolitica strains isolated from meat food in San Luis Argentina

Use of titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysts as alternative means for Listeria monocytogenes biofilm disinfection in food processing

how to subscribe

PHILIPPINES: Food poisoning downs 7 in Cotabato
11.aug.10
ABS-CBN
Archad Ayao
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/08/11/10/food-poisoning-downs-7-cotabato
MANILA, Philippines -– Seven people, including a year-old baby, were brought to the hospital due to food poisoning.
The victims were rushed to the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center after experiencing severe vomiting, dizziness, nausea and diarrhea.
They are still under observation and medication.
Reports said the victims attended the 100-day commemoration of their grandmother's death anniversary last Sunday.
One of the victims, Ainie Reyes, suspects that the poisoning was probably caused by poor food preparation.




Family outbreak of Shiga Toxin–producing Escherichia coli O123:H–, France, 2009
11.aug.10
Emerg Infect Dis. 2010 Sep
King LA, Filliol-Toutain I, Mariani-Kurkidjian P, Vaillant V, Vernozy-Rozand C, Ganet S
http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/9/PDFs/10-0472.pdf
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143619/10/08/11/e-coli-o123h-family-france-2009
To the Editor: Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a major cause of foodborne disease in industrialized countries. We present results of the investigation of a family outbreak in France caused by a rare STEC serotype.
Surveillance of STEC infections in France since 1996 has been based on national surveillance of STEC-related pediatric hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) (1). On February 11, 2009, two cases of diarrhea were reported to a surveillance coordinator: 1 in a child with HUS and the other in that child's sibling.
The 2 siblings, 2 and 6 years of age, had diarrhea beginning on February 4 and 5, 2009. Bloody diarrhea developed in the younger child, and HUS was diagnosed on February 9. The older child had nonbloody diarrhea for 3 days and abdominal pain. Questioning of the patients' parents identified no recent history of travel, contact with farm animals, or outdoor bathing. A food history indicated that the 2 patients had shared an undercooked ground beef burger 4–5 days before symptom onset. The patients' parents also ate burgers from the same package (box); they did not report any gastrointestinal symptoms.
Fecal specimens of the patients were tested for STEC by direct PCR for STEC genes (stx); after which culture and identification of stx1, stx2, eae, and ehxA (hlyA) virulence genes; and serotyping with a panel of 22 serum samples were conducted as described (1,2). Molecular serotyping was subsequently conducted on nonagglutinating strains by using the rfb–restriction fragment length polymorphism technique for O antigen (3) and sequencing of the fliC gene for H antigen (4).
A trace-back investigation was conducted for the implicated beef burgers, which were obtained from a box of 10, frozen, 100-g ground beef burgers purchased in late January 2009. The remaining beef burger in the box from which the patients had eaten a beef burger was obtained from the family's freezer for microbiologic testing. Stored production samples from the implicated batch underwent microbiologic testing.
After broth enrichment, ground beef samples were tested by PCR for stx and eae virulence genes and O antigens of serotypes O157, O26, O145, O103, and O111 (2,5,6). Subsequently, strains isolated from stx-positive and eae-positive enrichment broths were biochemically tested and underwent serotyping and PCR identification of virulence genes. Genetic relatedness of clinical and ground beef STEC strains was studied by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with Xbal as described (7).
A nonmotile strain of STEC stx2 eae ehxA, which was not serotypeable by the panel of 22 serum samples, was identified in fecal samples from patients and in the remaining ground beef. Molecular serotyping of clinical isolates and an isolate from the beef identified a strain of STEC O123:H2. Analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis indicated that the clinical and meat isolates were genetically related (Figure). The level of STEC contamination in the meat was 30– 40 CFU/g. All stored meat production samples tested were negative for STEC.
A clinical strain and a ground beef STEC strain were sent to the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Escherichia and Klebsiella in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009 for analysis. The clinical strain was confirmed as STEC O123:H–, and the meat strain was confirmed as a nonmotile STEC rough type by serum agglutination. Both strains had virulence genes stx2a, eae, and ehxA (F. Scheutz, pers. comm.).
We identified a family outbreak of STEC O123:H– stx2a, eae ehxA infections associated with ingestion of undercooked ground beef. No similar cases of STEC infection were identified by active case finding. This serotype is rarely described as a cause of human clinical infection. No human isolate of serotype O123:H– is recorded in the database of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Escherichia and Klebsiella (F. Scheutz, pers. comm.).
Two strains of STEC O123:H– stx2d were isolated from asymptomatic persons in Germany during 1996–2000 (8). A study in Australia in 2003 reported using a strain of O123:H– stx1 stx2 ehxA from Switzerland that had been isolated from a person with diarrhea (9).
We report foodborne transmission of STEC O123:H– that resulted in a cluster of clinical cases of infection. Eating ground beef is a well-established mode of STEC transmission, particularly for serotype O157:H7. STEC serotype O123:H– has been isolated from feces of healthy lambs and sheep in Spain (10) and in southwestern Australia (9) and is considered to be among the predominant ovine STEC serotypes in these countries.
This family outbreak shows that STEC serotype O123:H–, albeit rarely described as causing human illness, can cause severe human infection. This serotype can also cause clusters of STEC infections and be transmitted by ingestion of undercooked ground beef.
Acknowledgments
We thank Sylvie Peters, Hélène Perin, Lydie Pachtchenko-Claudet, Marie-Odile Klippenspies, Julie Hanot, Laurent Claudet, Philippe Couratier, and Valerie le Bourg for assistance with investigating this outbreak; and Flemming Scheutz for verifying serotypes and virulence genes.
Lisa A. King, Ingrid Filliol-Toutain, Patricia Mariani-Kurkidjian, Véronique Vaillant, Christine Vernozy-Rozand, Sarah Ganet, Nathalie Pihier, Patrick Niaudet, and Henriette de Valk
Author affiliations: Institut de Veille Sanitaire, Saint Maurice, France (L.A. King, V. Vaillant, H. de Valk); Institut Pasteur, Paris, France (I. Filliol-Toutain); Hôpital Robert Debré, Paris (P. Mariani-Kurhidjian); VetAgro Sup Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Marcy l'Etoile, France (C. Vernozy-Roxand, S. Gantet); Direction Générale de l'Alimentation, Paris (N. Pihier); and Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, Paris (P. Niaudet)
References
1. Espié E, Grimont F, Mariani-Kurkdjian P, Bouvet P, Haeghebaert S, Filliol I, et al. Surveillance of hemolytic uremic syndrome in children less than 15 years of age, a system to monitor O157 and non-O157 Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli infections in France, 1996–2006. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2008;27:595–601. PubMed DOI: 10.1097/INF.0b013e31816a062f
2. Paton AW, Paton JC. Detection and characterization of Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli by using multiplex PCR assays for stx1, stx2, eaeA, enterohemorrhagic E. coli hlyA, rfbO111, and rfbO157. J Clin Microbiol. 1998;36:598–602. PubMed
3. Coimbra RS, Grimont F, Lenormand P, Burguière P, Beutin L, Grimont PAD. Identification of Escherichia coli O-serogroupes by restriction of the amplified O-antigen gene cluster (rfb-RFLP). Res Microbiol. 2000;151:639–54. PubMed DOI: 10.1016/S0923-2508(00)00134-0
4. Coimbra RS, Lefevre M, Grimont F, Grimont PA. Clonal relationships among Shigella serotypes suggested by cryptic flagellin gene polymorphism. J Clin Microbiol. 2001;39:670–4. PubMed DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.2.670-674.2001
5. Read SC, Clarke RC, Martin A, De Grandis SA, Hii J, McEwen S, et al. Polymerase chain reaction for detection of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from animals and food sources. Mol Cell Probes. 1992;6:153–61. PubMed DOI: 10.1016/0890-8508(92)90060-B
6. Perelle S, Dilasser F, Grout J, Fach P. Detection by 5′-nuclease PCR of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli O26, O55, O91, O103, O111, O113, O145 and O157:H7, associated with the world's most frequent clinical cases. Mol Cell Probes. 2004;18:185–92. PubMed DOI: 10.1016/j.mcp.2003.12.004
7. Ribot EM, Fair MA, Gautom R, Cameron DN, Hunter SB, Swaminathan B, et al. Standardization of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis protocols for the subtyping of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Shigella for PulseNet. Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2006;3:59–67. PubMed DOI: 10.1089/fpd.2006.3.59
8. Friedrich AW, Bielaszewska M, Zhang WL, Pulz M, Kuczius T, Ammon A, et al. Escherichia coli harboring Shiga toxin 2 gene variants: frequency and association with clinical symptoms. J Infect Dis. 2002;185:74–84. PubMed DOI: 10.1086/338115
9. Brett KN, Ramachandran V, Hornitzky MA, Bettelheim KA, Walker MJ, Djordjevic SP. stx1c is the most common Shiga toxin 1 subtype among Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli isolates from sheep but not among isolates from cattle. J Clin Microbiol. 2003;41:926–36. PubMed DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.3.926-936.2003
10. Blanco M, Blanco JE, Mora A, Rey J, Alonso JM, Hermoso M, et al. Serotypes, virulence genes, and intimin types of Shiga toxin (verotoxin)–producing Escherichia coli isolates from healthy sheep in Spain. J Clin Microbiol. 2003;41:1351–6. PubMed DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.4.1351-1356.2003




He may know molecular but he don't know noro; Fat Duck restaurant ranked 1
11.aug.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143622/10/08/12/he-may-know-molecular-he-don%E2%80%99t-know-noro-fat-duck-restaurant-ranked-1
BBC News reports that the Fat Duck restaurant, owned by chef Heston Blumenthal, has been named the U.K.'s best restaurant for the third year in a row by the Good Food Guide and described as producing "world-beating dishes for the bedazzled throngs."
The guide, compiled by consumer group Which?, should be more discerning on behalf of consumers, like the 529 who were left barfing with norovirus after dining at the Duck.
The tasting menu includes a course called Sound of the Sea, during which the diner eats smoked fish, edible "sand" and "seaweed" while listening to seagulls on an iPod.
I'm going to hurl.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-10941178
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/138998/09/11/27/heston-blumenthal-fat-duck-continues-blame-others-over-500-getting-sick-his-res




Miami Dolphins Spitler stricken with salmonella
11.aug.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143623/10/08/12/miami-dolphins-spitler-stricken-salmonella
The Miami Herald reports that Dolphins linebacker Austin Spitler lost 18 pounds and missed a number of early training camp practices because he somehow contracted salmonella. Spitler, the seventh-round pick from Ohio State, said he spent two days in the hospital and was constantly ill.
``It was a bad deal,'' he said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/11/1770462/turner-has-some-catching-up-to.html




Fast food drives Americans crazy; Ohio woman wants her Chicken McNuggets
11.aug.10
barfblog
Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143618/10/08/11/fast-food-drives-americans-crazy-ohio-woman-wants-her-chicken-mcnuggets
The story may be old, but, as noted by Faded Tribune, the video is new and over the top.
And they can't seem to get enough of it on the news stations here in Australia.
Footage from a surveillance camera at a McDonald's in Toledo, Ohio shows an unhinged woman punching two workers and smashing the drive-through window because she could not get Chicken McNuggets in the wee hours of New Year's Day.
For the vandalism, 24-year-old Melodi Dushane was sentenced last month to 60 days in jail, three years of community service and ordered to pay more than $1500 for the damage. She said she had been drinking and suffers panic attacks, which she blamed for leading up to her rampage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8gkm4jIlGY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.fadedtribune.com/2010/08/ohio-woman-goes-on-a-mcdonalds-rampage/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FadedTribune+%28Faded+Tribune%29




Detection of norovirus in mouthwash samples from patients with acute gastroenteritis
11.aug.10
Journal of Clinical Virology, Volume 48, Issue 4, Pages 285-287
Andrew Kirby, Winifred Dove, Lynne Ashton, Mark Hopkins, Nigel A. Cunliffe
http://www.journalofclinicalvirology.com/article/S1386-6532(10)00222-2/abstract
Background
Norovirus infection is characteristically associated with vomiting which is known to contain a high concentration of viral particles. The oral cavity is therefore likely to become contaminated with norovirus during episodes of gastroenteritis.
Objective
To investigate the oral detection of norovirus in patients with norovirus gastroenteritis.
Study design
Faecal and oral mouthwash samples were collected in two separate settings. In the first setting, samples were collected repeatedly over a 3-week period from six family members experiencing a domestic outbreak of norovirus gastroenteritis. Secondly, samples were collected at a single time point following disease onset from 59 patients hospitalised with norovirus gastroenteritis. Norovirus detection in oral and faecal samples was undertaken by RT-PCR.
Results
In the family study, norovirus was detected in early morning mouthwash samples for 10–15 days following disease onset from each of six family members. In the hospital study, 14/59 hospitalised adults with norovirus infection had norovirus detected in mouthwashes (24%; 14–37% 95% C.I.). For the hospitalised adults, the detection of norovirus in mouthwash samples was associated with the presence of vomiting (p=0.1); and in those patients with norovirus infection whose mouthwash samples were collected within 24h of the onset of vomiting, 59% (10/17) had norovirus detected.
Conclusions
Oral mouthwashes may provide an adjunct to faecal sampling to support the diagnosis of norovirus infection. The detection of norovirus in orally-derived material raises the possibility of oral-to-oral norovirus transmission, and that this potential for transmission may extend beyond the immediate symptomatic period.




Pulsed field, PCR ribotyping and multiplex PCR analysis of Yersinia enterocolitica strains isolated from meat food in San Luis Argentina
11.aug.10
Food Microbiology
Cecilia S.M. Lucero Estrada, Lidia del Carmen Velázquez, María Esther Escudero, Gabriela Isabel Favier, Valeria Lazarte and Ana María Stefanini de Guzmán
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WFP-50RVNKD-1&_user=10&_coverDate=08%2F11%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=3e50e0f1dbc53b49aa620dc13ee2de17
Abstract
The characterization of phenotypic and genotypic virulence markers of Y. enterocolitica strains belonging to biotypes (B) 1A, 2 and 3, mostly isolated from food in San Luis, Argentina, and the assessment of their genotypic diversity using PFGE and PCR-ribotyping, were performed in our laboratory for the first time. Thirty five Y. enterocolitica strains, two reference strains and 33 strains isolated in our laboratory were studied. The presence of virF, ail, ystA, and myfA genes was investigated by multiplex PCR. The pathogenic potential of B1A strains, the most predominant biotype of Y. enterocolitica strains isolated from meat in our region, was investigated by simple PCR. Four B1A strains were positive for ystB gene. Four Y. enterocolitica 2/O:9 (bio/serotype) and two 3/O:5 strains isolated in our laboratory showed virulence-related results in the phenotypic tests and multiplex PCR. A good correlation between the expression of virulence markers and their corresponding genotypes was observed for most strains. Sixteen genomic types (GT) and 9 different intergenic spacer region (SR) groups were generated by PFGE and PCR-ribotyping, respectively. In both cases the Y. enterocolitica 2/O:9 strains were separately clustered from 1A and 3/O:5 strains. Meat foods might be vehicles of transmission of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica strains in our region.




Use of titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysts as alternative means for Listeria monocytogenes biofilm disinfection in food processing
11.aug.10
Food Microbiology
N.G. Chorianopoulos, D.S. Tsoukleris, E.Z. Panagou, P. Falaras and G.-J.E. Nychas
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WFP-50RP1YJ-1&_user=10&_coverDate=08%2F10%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=4afe652f6fb86053ffc593b3d346b78f
Abstract
The aim of this work was to study the photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide (TiO2) against Listeria monocytogenes bacterial biofilm. Different TiO2 nanostructured thin films were deposited on surfaces such as stainless steel and glass using the doctor-blade technique. All the surfaces were placed in test tubes containing Brain Heart (BH) broth and inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes. Test tubes were then incubated for 10 days at 16 °C in order to allow biofilm development. After biofilm formation, the surfaces were illuminated by ultraviolet A light (UVA; wavelength of 315–400 nm). The quantification of biofilms was performed using the bead vortexing method, followed by agar plating and/or by conductance measurements (via the metabolic activity of biofilm cells). The presence of the TiO2 nanoparticles resulted in a fastest log-reduction of bacterial biofilm compared to the control test. The biofilm of Listeria monocytogenes for the glass nanoparticle 1 (glass surface modified by 16% w/v TiO2) was found to have decreased by 3 log CFU/cm2 after 90 min irradiation by UVA. The use of TiO2 nanostructured photocatalysts as alternative means of disinfecting contaminated surfaces presents an intriguing case, which by further development may provide potent disinfecting solutions. Surface modification using nanostructured titania and UV irradiation is an innovative combination to enhance food safety and economizing time and money.


bites is produced by Dr. Douglas Powell and food safety friends at Kansas State University. For further information, please contact dpowell@ksu.edu or check out bites.ksu.edu.

TO SUBSCRIBE to the listserv version of bites, send mail to:
(subscription is free)
listserv@listserv.ksu.edu
leave subject line blank
in the body of the message type:
subscribe bites-L firstname lastname
i.e. subscribe bites-L Doug Powell

TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the listserv version of bites, send mail to:
listserv@listserv.ksu.edu
leave subject line blank
in the body of the message type: signoff bites-L

archived at http://archives.foodsafety.ksu.edu/fsnet-archives.htm and bites.ksu.edu

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home