Food regulators, health authorities and Chief Veterinary Officers in Australia are investigating a rare strain of Salmonella (Salmonella Enteritidis) associated with human illness and egg consumption. Confirmed human cases linked to this strain have been found in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania. Detections of this strain have also occurred on chicken farms in NSW, and one farm in Victoria. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is coordinating the response by food regulators under the National Food…

In May 2017, Government of Canada scientists began using a new technology called “whole genome sequencing” to help identify and respond to outbreaks. Since that time, federal, provincial and territorial health and food safety partners have investigated 17 national outbreaks linked to raw chicken, including frozen raw breaded chicken products. In total, there have been 14 food products linked to these outbreak investigations. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued food recall warnings for 13 …

CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the FDA investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections. This outbreak was detected when a cluster of people infected with Salmonella I 4,[5],12:b:- was identified by CDC PulseNet. Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicated that kratom was the likely source of this multistate outbreak. Kratom, or Mitragyna speciose, is a plant that grows naturally in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It is consumed for…

In early November 2017 Wisconsin local and state health authorities were notified of two unrelated salmonellosis cases. When interviewed, both cases reported attending a “Murder Mystery” event at Le Chateau on October 26th, 2017 and October 28th, 2017. Le Chateau is a French restaurant that serves a complex menu, serving only 35 meals a day on average. Both cases also reported having meal companions who fell ill after the event. On November 16, 2017 La…

On September 21, 2017, the Central District Health Department received three lab reports and one clinical diagnosis for Salmonella infections of patrons who had all eaten at Chiang Mai House Thai Restaurant, located at 4898 West Emerald Street in Boise, Idaho. In total, six individuals with Salmonella infections were reported to the Central District Health Department and included in the Chiang Mai House Thai Salmonella outbreak (Outbreak ID# 2017-081). Five of the six cases were culture confirmed and…

The Chicago Department of Public Health identified an outbreak of Salmonella, impacting at least 14 people, on September 1, 2017.[1]The outbreak was detected by Chicago Department of Public Health officials’ ongoing surveillance, reviewing laboratory reports of patients diagnosed with specific diseases. Investigators recognized an uptick in a particular laboratory serotype of Salmonella cases, Salmonella Schwarzengrund, and then contacted patients to determine if there were any commonalities between the cases. This les to the determination that…

CDC collaborated with public health and regulatory officials in several states and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to investigate a multistate outbreak of SalmonellaTyphimurium infections. Public health investigators used the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that were part of this outbreak. DNA fingerprinting was performed on Salmonellabacteria isolated from ill people by using PFGE and WGS. A total of 265 people infected with the outbreak strains of SalmonellaTyphimurium were reported…