Food Contamination and Poisoning

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    Boar’s Head Listeria Outbreak Survivors Describe Harrowing Illnesses

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    The outbreak, linked to Boar’s Head products, has been especially devastating for high-risk groups like pregnant women and older adults.Ashley Solberg wasn’t worried about the risk to her pregnancy when she bought Boar’s Head sliced ham from a Florida supermarket in May. Her doctor had told her the risk was negligible, Ms. Solberg said, and she’d eaten deli meat without any issues in her last pregnancy. So she used it to make a poolside lunch for her parents and toddler.It was only when she returned home to Coon Rapids, Minn., that she started to feel ill. When her fever persisted for a third day, she went to a hospital, where a blood test revealed she had been infected with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. A doctor told Ms. Solberg, who was 36 weeks pregnant, that she might need an emergency C-section, or worse.“The doctor came in and said there’s a possibility that your baby won’t make it, and said over and over how serious a listeria infection is,” she said. “I was terrified.”Ms. Solberg, 33, is one of 57 people across 18 states who have been hospitalized in an ongoing listeria outbreak tied to Boar’s Head deli meats. The bacteria thrive in cold temperatures, which is why listeria is more commonly found in processed meats, fruit and dairy products. Contaminated food can also deposit the bacteria on counters, deli-meat slicers and other places where food is processed.Most people don’t get very sick from listeria. But for older adults, immunocompromised people and pregnant women, an infection can cause serious health issues or even death. All nine deaths linked to the outbreak have been of people older than 70, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Ms. Solberg and others sickened in the outbreak described their shock at falling seriously ill after eating cold cuts or liverwurst they had enjoyed without issues for years. One patient had to pause her chemotherapy treatments for leukemia to battle the infection. Some became so ill they had to spend weeks receiving IV antibiotics, and are still trying to regain their strength.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Salmonella Outbreak Prompts Egg Recall by Wisconsin Farm

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      Officials said 65 people in nine states have been infected in the outbreak, which has been traced to an egg farm. No deaths have been reported.A salmonella outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in nine states prompted a recall of certain brands of eggs on Friday after officials said they traced the source of the infections to a farm in Wisconsin.State health officials said that 42 of the 65 people infected were in Wisconsin. Many people reported eating eggs at restaurants in the state before they got sick.Officials were able to trace the source of the eggs to Milo’s Poultry Farms of Bonduel, Wis., where they identified the outbreak strain in a packing facility and a hens egg-laying house, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.All carton sizes and egg types produced at the farm, which either bear the label “Milo’s Poultry Farms” or “Tony’s Fresh Market,” were recalled by the farm, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.The eggs were distributed to retail stores and food service suppliers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, the F.D.A. said. The recall includes all expiration dates. The exact number of eggs recalled was not immediately available.No deaths have been reported in the outbreak, but 24 people were hospitalized. The first case was reported in late May, but most infections were reported in July and August, according to the C.D.C.The reported number of people infected is likely an undercount because it usually takes weeks to determine if an infection is part of an outbreak and because some people may recover without testing for the bacteria, the C.D.C. said.Aside from Wisconsin, infections were reported in California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Utah and Virginia. Illinois reported the second-highest number of infections with 11, followed by Minnesota, which reported three.The symptoms of the bacterial infection include diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain and usually begin within three days of ingesting the contaminated food, the F.D.A. said.Symptoms usually clear up within a week, but people with weakened immune systems, including young children and older adults, are more susceptible to severe, and sometimes fatal, infections, the F.D.A. said.The egg recall came after a deadly summer outbreak of listeria that prompted the recall of seven million pounds of Boar’s Head deli meat products.That outbreak has resulted in nine deaths and dozens of hospitalizations and the temporary shutdown of a Boar’s Head plant in Virginia, where inspectors had found black mold, water dripping over meat and dead flies. More

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      Hiking Trail in Hawaii Closes After Norovirus Outbreak

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      Four people tested positive for the virus, which causes a highly contagious gastrointestinal illness, officials said. The trail was recommended to remain closed until at least Sept. 19.A popular hiking trail on the island of Kauai in Hawaii was closed this week after more than three dozen people fell ill in what officials said was a “rare occurrence” of the highly contagious norovirus.The Kalalau Trail, a 22-mile round-trip stretch within the Napali Coast State Wilderness Park, was recommended to remain closed until at least Sept. 19 while Department of Health officials assessed the ongoing risk of transmission and as stations along the trail were cleaned and disinfected.The Health Department received reports of illness from at least 37 hikers and campers over the last several weeks, though the actual number is expected to be higher, officials said.“This is a very concerning and rare occurrence, magnified by the extreme remote nature of the Kalalau Valley,” Curt Cottrell, an administrator for state parks, said in a statement.The trail was closed on Wednesday after health officials received numerous reports of gastrointestinal illnesses from hikers, and on Thursday the Health Department said that test results from four patients confirmed that they had contracted norovirus.The state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a statement that dozens of backpackers along the trail had reported gastrointestinal illness, and that one person had been evacuated but no one had been hospitalized.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Boar’s Head Recalls 7 Million More Pounds of Meat Amid Listeria Outbreak

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      The announcement came less than a week after Boar’s Head recalled more than 200,000 pounds of meat during an outbreak that has killed two and sickened more than two dozen.Boar’s Head recalled seven million additional pounds of deli meat on Tuesday, expanding a recall of more than 200,000 pounds after its product was linked on Monday to a listeria outbreak that has left two people dead and sickened nearly three dozen.The expanded recall includes all meats and poultry processed at a Boar’s Head facility in Jarratt, Va. The decision to broaden the recall came after the company learned from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that a sample of its liverwurst from a Maryland store that had tested positive for listeria bacteria had matched the strain in the nationwide outbreak.“Based on this new information, we took steps to ensure we are doing everything possible to protect public health,” Boar’s Head said in a statement on its website on Tuesday. The company added that it had suspended operations involving ready-to-eat meats at the Jarratt facility until further notice.The company announced its initial recall on July 25, calling back all products that had been processed on the same production line and on the same day, June 27, as the contaminated liverwurst. That recall amounted to 207, 528 pounds of meat comprising 10 different products sliced at deli counters and sold in retail stores.Now, the recall covers every item produced at the Virginia facility, a sweeping list of 71 products bearing the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names produced from May 10 through July 29, the U.S.D.A.’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said.The list of products includes multipound loaves of “Strassburger Brand Liverwurst MADE IN VIRGINIA” with sell-by dates ranging from July 25 to Aug. 30 and meats made for slicing at delis with an Aug. 10 sell-by date. Some of those meats include: Virginia ham, Italian Cappy Ham, Extra Hot Italian Cappy Ham, Pork & Beef Bologna, Beef Salami, Beef Bologna and Garlic Bologna.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      How E. Coli in Food Makes People Sick

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      The bacteria sickens an estimated 265,000 Americans each year.Last week, federal officials announced recalls of ground beef and organic walnuts because they were potentially contaminated with E. coli bacteria that can make people sick.The recalls involve more than 16,000 pounds of ground beef distributed by Cargill Meat Solutions and sold at Wal-Mart stores in 11 states, as well as organic shelled walnuts sold in bulk in natural food and co-op stores in 19 states. So far, the recalled walnuts have been associated with 12 illnesses, including seven hospitalizations, in Washington State and California.No illnesses have been reported from the ground beef recall, although ground beef remains one of the most common sources of illnesses from these bacteria, which are responsible for an estimated 265,000 illnesses annually. Most of these, however, are not diagnosed or tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because people often recover on their own without visiting a doctor, said Matthew Wise, chief of the C.D.C.’s Outbreak Response and Prevention Branch.Here’s what you need to know about E. coli to stay safe.Where You’ll Find the BacteriaThere are many different kinds of E. coli, and most of them are harmless to humans, said microbiologist Edward G. Dudley, director of the E. Coli Reference Center at Pennsylvania State University.Some types do, however, make people sick, he said. Those that most commonly cause illness in humans, known as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, primarily reside in cow intestines, which is why they often contaminate ground beef. The E. coli implicated in the ongoing walnut and ground beef recalls are a type of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.Because these bacteria eventually work their way out of animal intestines and into feces, they can also contaminate farm soil, which is why E. coli outbreaks are also often tied to produce, Dr. Dudley explained. They can also contaminate ponds, lakes and rivers.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      One in Five Milk Samples Nationwide Shows Genetic Traces of Bird Flu

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      There is no evidence that the milk is unsafe to drink, scientists say. But the survey result strongly hints that the outbreak may be widespread.Federal regulators have discovered fragments of bird flu virus in roughly 20 percent of retail milk samples tested in a nationally representative study, the Food and Drug Administration said in an online update on Thursday.Samples from parts of the country that are known to have dairy herds infected with the virus were more likely to test positive, the agency said. Regulators said that there is no evidence that this milk poses a danger to consumers or that live virus is present in the milk on store shelves, an assessment public health experts have agreed with.But finding traces of the virus in such a high share of samples from around the country is the strongest signal yet that the bird flu outbreak in dairy cows is more extensive than the official tally of 33 infected herds across eight states.“It suggests that there is a whole lot of this virus out there,” said Richard Webby, a virologist and influenza expert at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.Dr. Webby said that he believed it was still possible to eradicate the virus, which is known as H5N1, from the nation’s dairy farms. But it will be difficult to design effective control measures without knowing the scope of the outbreak, he said.The findings also raise questions about how the virus has evaded detection and where else it might be silently spreading. Some scientists have criticized the federal testing strategy as too limited to reveal the true extent of viral spread.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More