Food Poison Journal - Food poisoning outbreaks and litigation: surveillance and analysis

A Salmonella outbreak in Sierra Vista, Arizona, has sickened at least 47 people since September 1, 2006.  Local and state health officials have been unable to identify the source of the ongoing outbreak, which sickened two more people at a daycare last week.  Investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have joined the investigation, but have not yet determined the source.  According to an article from the Sierra Vista Herald:

The CDC team, along with state and local health officials, will be looking at a possible connection between the two confirmed children on Fort Huachuca and cases in the Sierra Vista area, Garner said. In addition, the CDC will be looking at food preparation throughout the installation, just as they are investigating food handling practices in restaurants throughout the Sierra Vista area. The CDC is here to offer its expertise, while allowing local health officials to take the lead in the investigation.

Salmonella is a bacterial infection that is typically acquired by eating infected food sources. It is also acquired through infected water sources, close contact with infected individuals and from handling animals, especially reptiles.

Health officials are continuing to urge all community members to practice good hygiene by washing hands thoroughly, especially after using the bathroom, changing soiled diapers and handling raw meats. To prevent cross-contamination of raw meat, clean hands and surfaces before handling other foods.

Thousands of customers at a Houlihan's restaurant in Kane County, Illinois, were potentially exposed to the hepatitis A virus when they drank iced beverages at the restaurant between January 8 and January 19, 2007.  Marler Clark has been contacted by approximately 50 individuals who have asked to become part of a class action lawsuit against Houlihan's filed by the law firm last week. 

An article in the Daily Herald covered the lawsuit:

"These cases are not about humungus sums of money, but they are about the fact that it's not right to take your problem of sick workers and push it onto other people's laps," said Dave Babcock, an attorney with Marler Clark. "This is something that is really, really avoidable."

The law firm has handled several hepatitis A cases in other states, as well as the salmonella outbreak at a Lake County Chili's restaurant two years ago.
Babcock said restaurants could eliminate the risk of hepatitis A if they required immunizations for their employees, made paid sick leave available and trained management to look for signs of the sickness.

According to a story in the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, more than 30 attendees at a Hernando County Commissioners meeting became ill with food poisoning, suspected Norovirus, after a meeting on January 19. 

The stricken included at least 10 county department heads, two county commissioners, a Planning and Zoning commissioner, several county employees, a handful of spectators and Rusty, the 5-year-old black Labrador and beloved companion of Commission Chairman Jeff Stabins, who thoughtfully brought his pet some leftovers.

"I think they want to get rid of me," said Angelo Oliva, a frequent complainant at County Commission meetings. Oliva, 79, said Thursday that he hadn't been able to eat solid food for days.

Stabins - along with Rusty - has fully recovered.

Mike the Mad Biologist wrote a post titled, "Shigella, Children, and Antibiotic Resistance, in which he cites a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC study emphasized the fact that some strains of Shigella, a bacterium that is sometimes foodborne and can lead to serious illness and even death in children and populations with compromised immune systems, have become resistant to antibiotic treatment. From Mike the Mad Biologist's Post:

In the developed world, shigellosis, a diahrreal disease caused by the bacterial species Shigella, typically isn't considered dangerous, even though it makes about 450,000 ill in the U.S. To shorten the length of illness and to reduce potential infection of other people, antibiotics are typically prescribed, usually cotrmoxazole or ampicillin. However, recent shigellosis outbreaks are cause for concern (italics mine):

Surveillance data for antimicrobial resistance among all S. sonnei isolates received by NARMS during 1999--2003 indicated that 80% of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin and 47% to TMP/SMX [cotrimoxazole]; 38% were resistant to both drugs (6). In the two outbreaks described in this report, resistance to both ampicillin and TMP/SMX was 89%, complicating shigellosis treatment in these communities.

Mike the Mad Biologist points out that hand washing can prevent Shigella infection, and that a national approach to preventing future outbreaks is necessary, since, "bacteria and viruses really don't care about state boundaries." See the Shigella blog for more information about Shigella outbreaks.

Over 600 people attended shot clinics put on by the Kane County, Illinois, Department of Health after an employee at a Houlihan's Restaurant was diagnosed with a hepatitis A infection, according to a story at Chicago's ABC7 Web site. According to the story, The Kane County Health Department is offering the immune globulin shots for free to anyone who ate at the restaurant between January Eighth and the 19th.

People who ate at the restaurant should know that preventive measures are only effective during the two weeks after exposure to the hepatitis A virus. If the Immune globulin is not administered during the first two weeks after exposure, symptoms of hepatitis A food poisoning such as nausea, fever, and malaise will appear. Children can sometimes be infected and exhibit no symptoms, while adults, especially those 50 and older, can suffer severe complications of hepatitis A infection, including liver failure.

More about hepatitis A food poisoning is available at www.about-hepatitis.com.