Author: Phyllis Entis

Ohio Chicken Hatchery Precipitates Salmonella Outbreak – Again

For the second time in less than a year, the Mt. Healthy Hatchery – a mail-order chicken hatchery located in Ohio – is the source of a multi-state and multi-strain Salmonella outbreak.

CDC reported today that 93 people from 23 states were infected with one of the outbreak strains, which include Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Newport, and Salmonella Lille. Eighteen people have been hospitalized; one death is under investigation.

Illnesses have been reported from the following states: Alabama (3), Georgia (3), Illinois (1), Indiana (2), Kentucky (4), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Maryland (1), Maine (2), Michigan (1), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (1), North Carolina (9), New York (13), Ohio (26), Pennsylvania (9), Rhode Island (1), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (4), Texas (1), Virginia (6), Vermont (1), and West Virginia (1).

More than one-third (37%) of the outbreak victims are 10 years of age or younger; the youngest is less than one year old. Illness onset dates range from March 1, 2012 to May 19, 2012. Additional illnesses that occurred after May 6th may not yet have been reported.

Investigations carried out jointly by local, state and federal agencies traced the outbreak to exposure to chicks and ducklings from a single mail-order hatchery in Ohio. The same hatchery – identified last year by the Ohio Department of Agriculture as Mt. Healthy Hatchery – was the source of a similar outbreak around this time last year.

The link between this outbreak and the hatchery is incontrovertible. According to CDC, four chick and duckling samples from different homes in Ohio and New York yielded the three Salmonella outbreak strains. The source of these chicks and ducklings was Mt. Healthy Hatchery.

Last year’s outbreak peaked around Easter – the traditional time for introducing chicks and ducklings as household pets. This year’s outbreak time curve is following the same pattern.

CDC offers the following advice to consumers who want to reduce – NOT eliminate – the risk of Salmonella infection from live baby poultry:

  • Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water right after touching live baby poultry or anything in the area where they live and roam. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available.
  • Adults should supervise hand washing for young children.
  • Don’t let children younger than 5 years of age handle or touch chicks, ducklings, or other live poultry.
  • Don’t snuggle or kiss the birds, touch your mouth, or eat or drink around live baby poultry.
  • Don’t let live baby poultry inside the house, in bathrooms, or especially in areas where food or drink is prepared, served, or stored, such as kitchens or outdoor patios.
  • Do not eat or drink in the area where the birds live or roam.
  • Don’t clean any equipment or materials associated with raising or caring for live poultry, such as cages or feed or water containers, inside the house.
  • Don’t give live baby poultry as gifts to young children.

Recalls and Alerts: May 30, 2012

Here is today’s list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please submit your request using the sidebar link.

United States

  • Food Safety Recall: Bumble Bee, Inc. recalls Bumble Bee Fancy Whole Oysters (8-oz can; all lot codes; UPC 86600-70030), due to an FDA evaluation of the Korean Shellfish Sanitation Program found significant deficiencies in Korean shellfish growing areas.
  • Medical Device Safety Recall: Tyco Healthcare/Covidien recalls SYR MONJ KEN 29G, Product ID #8881511344, Product ID #8881511336, and Product ID #8881511144, due to a molding issue that can allow the safety shield to separate from the syringe, exposing the needle, which could potentially result in a needle stick. Please see the recall notice posted on Rite-Aid’s web site for more details.

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Pet Food Safety Recall (Singapore): The Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) advises consumers that Solid Gold Health Products for Pets, Inc. (El Cajon, CA) has recalled one batch of WolfCub Large Breed Puppy Food and one batch of WolfKing Large Breed Adult Dog Food, due to potential Salmonella contamination. Please refer to the AVA notice for details.
  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating a fatal case of Vibrio vulnificus infection involving an 84-year old woman. The woman was injured while scraping fish on May 23rd.
  • Outbreak Alert (Philippines): The Provincial Health Office in Bataan is investigating three separate illness outbreaks: complaints of diarrhea among 117 inmates of Bataan District Jail, a cluster of 25 cases of food poisoning among people who ate egg rolls during a funeral in Limay, and 97 people who suffered food poisoning after consuming “dirty” ice cream in Balanga.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket’s recall web site.

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.
**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.

Why Contaminated Pet Food Matters

It’s not always easy to explain to people who do not share their lives with pets – be they dogs, cats, birds, reptiles or other creatures – why FDA and CDC should devote so much time and attention to an outbreak of Salmonella illnesses that has affected only a handful of people.

I could say that contaminated pet food matters because infected pets may transmit their illness to people. And that would be true.

I could say that contaminated pet food matters because a child might taste a piece of the food and become infected. And that would be true.

I could say that it is the responsibility of every manufacturer to provide a safe product, regardless of the target audience. And that would be true.

But I was reminded this morning of the real reason that contaminated pet food matters, when I read the story posted by an eFoodAlert reader. In case you missed it, here is the story of Jelly and Bishop, told by Linda (Pittsford, NY):

I was feeding both my 4-year-old and 6-year-old Portuguese Water Dogs Taste of the Wild Bison for about five years. My 4-year-old, Jelly, was about 38 pounds and a much smaller dog than my 6-year-old, Bishop who is larger and weighs about 55 pounds. (There is a range of sizes in the Portuguese Water Dog b/c fishermen with small boats bred smaller dogs; fishermen with larger boats bred larger dogs).

It was in January 2012 that I noticed some vomiting from Jelly. That discontinued, but bloody stools followed, first in Jelly, then beginning the next day in Bishop, as well.

I brought my dogs to the Vet.

Next I noticed Jelly was having urinary accidents all over the house. I didn’t understand this, b/c he was, of course house trained.

Bish did not do this. Jelly was VERY thirsty, and peeing all the time in huge amounts. After awhile, Jelly started to pee bloody urine, in very small amounts. I took him to the vet.

Then Bish started with this as well. Both back to the vet.

I felt my dogs were being poisoned, (I just had this feeling,) but I had no poisons in my home, and it was winter outside. I was perplexed.

The bloody urine went on for about a week, my vet doing all kinds of tests, X- rays, blood work. All the while, I was feeding my dogs Taste of the Wild, Bison, b/c the recall wasn’t announced until May,2012, and this was back in January 2012.

Jelly was at the vet’s for 4 hours on the day he died. He sat on my lap the whole time. I am grateful for those four hours.

The vet was unsure of what was happening. That afternoon, Jelly started to yelp in pain so horribly I knew it was the end. He stumbled about the room in a daze, screaming bloody murder. Then, immediately, he seized. I immediately drove him to the Emergency Hospital. He was incontinent of large amounts of urine on the way. At the hospital, he went into a coma, cardiac and respiratory arrested, and died.

Bishop recovered on his own, which I attribute to his larger size.

I miss Jelly so much and feel responsible for his awful death. I was his advocate, his protector, and here I was feeding him poison by the name of Taste of the Wild Bison Dog Food.

And that’s why contaminated pet food matters.