Salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers sickens 73

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An outbreak of Salmonella linked to cucumbers imported from Mexico has sickened 73 people in 18 states, according to an announcement today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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People affected by the outbreak became ill between January and April of this year. So far, 14 patients have been hospitalized, but no one has died, the CDC said.

States with the most reported cases include California (28 cases), Arizona (nine cases) and Minnesota, (eight cases.) Cases also have been reported in Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

After an initial investigation, the source of the outbreak appears to be imported cucumbers from two companies in Culiacán, Mexico: Daniel Cardenas Izabal and Miracle Greenhouse, the CDC said.

Two-thirds of the 45 patients interviewed by investigators reported eating cucumbers before they became sick. Currently, there's no evidence that the contaminated cucumbers are still being sold in stores, the CDC said. But the agency is blocking cucumber imports from the two Mexico-based companies until they can show that their cucumbers are not contaminated.

All patients were sick with a strain of bacteria called Salmonella Saintpaul. Symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. People typically become ill from Salmonella about 12 to 72 hours after eating food contaminated with the bacteria, the CDC said.

Consumers should wash all produce — including cucumbers — before eating, cutting or cooking, the CDC said.

 

 

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CDC to investigate downtown LA tuberculosis outbreak

LOS ANGELES –  California health officials are tracking a new tuberculosis strain that has emerged in an area of downtown Los Angeles frequented by a large concentration of homeless people.

Homeless shelters in Skid Row are increasing efforts to urge people to get tested after state and local public health officials alerted them to the outbreak earlier this month.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be sending a team of specialists to Los Angeles next month to investigate the causes and spread of the often lethal lung infection, spokeswoman Salina Cranor said.

Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease spread by airborne contact such as coughing, sneezing and spitting. It is often seen in environments where people live in crowded quarters, such as in prisons and homeless shelters.

It has long been a problem in Skid Row, a 50-square-block area that houses the nation's densest concentration of homeless people. About 1,000 people sleep on sidewalks nightly, and several thousand more seek refuge in four shelters.

Employees at the shelters are already routinely tested for TB and some also test clients, but several shelters have increased outreach in light of the new outbreak.

"We're watching out for coughs and going out on the street looking for people coughing," said Andy Bales, president and chief executive of the Union Rescue Mission. "It's not a panic, but a plan to address a very persistent problem."

Several people have died of TB at the mission over the past year, he said.

The Los Angeles Mission is also expanding efforts to alert more homeless people about coughs as they come into the shelter, said Herb Smith, its president.

The Los Angeles Mission has provided health officials with a list of clients dating back to 2007. Officials are combing through the list to find the names of infected people and determine who stayed there at the same time, Smith said.

Finding people, however, is problematic as many homeless people have a transient lifestyle, moving among different areas of the city or to different cities. Even getting people to return to determine the result of a TB test is not easy, he noted.

News of the TB outbreak spread around Skid Row on Friday. Residents said it was worrisome because many people in Skid Row suffer from poor health and many people have been incarcerated, where they could have been exposed to TB. The disease can remain latent for some time.

"It don't take much for somebody to walk by and cough on you," said Bill Cannady, 52, adding that he has glaucoma and cataracts. "A little cough could be detrimental."

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Feds indict 4 over 2009 salmonella outbreak linked to Georgia peanut plant

ATLANTA –  A federal grand jury indicted four employees of a peanut company linked to a 2009 salmonella outbreak that killed nine people and sickened hundreds.

The indictment was unsealed Wednesday in federal court in Georgia and charges four employees with Virginia-based Peanut Corp. of America. The charges include conspiracy, wire fraud, obstruction of justice and others related to contaminated or misbranded food.

Named in the indictment were company owner Stewart Parnell, his brother and company vice president Michael Parnell, Georgia plant manager Samuel Lightsey and Georgia plant quality assurance manager Mary Wilkerson.

The recall of Peanut Corp.'s peanut products was one of the largest in history. FDA inspectors found remarkably bad conditions inside Parnell's processing plant in Blakely, Ga., including mold and roaches.

The indictment accused the Parnells and Lightsey of conspiring to defraud customers and obtain money through false and fraudulent pretenses. Wilkerson was charged with obstruction of justice.

The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment until after a news conference later Thursday.

The indictment alleged the conspiracy lasted from about June 2003 through February 2009. The indictment said peanut products were shipped after it tested positive for salmonella, and the company failed to inform customers.

Stewart Parnell, who invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying before Congress in February 2009, once directed employees to "turn them loose" after samples of peanuts had tested positive for salmonella and then were cleared in a second test, according to e-mails uncovered at the time by congressional investigators.

The indictment cited emails sent between defendants talking about the contamination in the product.

A federal judge in 2010 approved a $12 million insurance settlement for more than 100 salmonella victims.

Even President Barack Obama expressed concern at the height of the product recalls, noting that his daughter Sasha eats peanut butter for lunch as often as three times a week.

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