I received this notification via listserv and thought it worthy of sharing
with the campus community since this bacterial illness has been reported in
Tennessee. Remember what your mother told you - Wash your hands.
Jim
SALMONELLOSIS, FOODBORNE - USA (NATIONWIDE)
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A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 12:50:50 -0400
From: ProMED-mail <[log in to unmask]>
Source: Inland Empire Online, 16 May 2001 [edited]
http://www.inlandempireonline.com/news/stories/051601/melon16.shtml
Inland death blamed on melon
----------------------------
Imported cantaloupes contaminated with a rare strain of _Salmonella_
bacteria killed a 78-year-old Riverside woman and sickened nearly 30
other people from California to New York, California health officials
said Tuesday. Authorities declined to provide many details about the
woman, other than that she was a nursing home patient who became ill
7 Apr 2001 and died two days later at a Riverside hospital.
At least 17 California residents became ill between April 6 Apr 2001
and 24 Apr 2001 after eating contaminated cantaloupe purchased in
supermarkets or served in restaurants, according to the state
Department of Health Services.
Most of those sickened were from Southern California, including three
from Riverside County and two from San Bernardino County. One
Riverside County victim was a 2-year-old child, said Barbara Cole,
who heads Riverside County's disease control program. Contaminated
cantaloupes sickened 13 other people in Arizona, Missouri, New
Mexico, New York, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington.
California health officials have not yet confirmed exactly where the
contaminated produce came from but are "fairly certain this is an
imported product," said Jeff Farrar, head of a state health
department emergency response team.
At the time of the outbreak, he said, farms in California and Arizona
had not yet shipped cantaloupes, and Texas growers had only begun
shipping fruit. More domestic fruit is now reaching supermarkets, he
said.
_Salmonella_ is the most frequently reported cause of food-borne
illnesses, and poultry, meat, eggs and dairy products are the most
common sources of the bacteria, according to the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria also can be found on
fruits and vegetables, particularly those grown or harvested on the
ground and eaten raw.
Riverside and San Bernardino counties each report about 150 to 250
cases [of salmonellosis] a year, although in most cases the victims
recover.
Consumers should wash their hands both before and after preparing
foods, and should rinse fruits and vegetables under running water to
remove bacteria, state and local health officials said. Consumers
also should promptly refrigerate any unused portions.
People stricken with the bacteria develop symptoms such as fever,
abdominal cramps and diarrhea within 3 days of eating contaminated
foods. Most people recover within 5 days without medical attention.
But for children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems,
the illness can be life-threatening.
There are more than 2400 different strains of _Salmonella_ bacteria,
said Kim Woods, an epidemiologist with San Bernardino County's public
health department. Most strains are rare. The _Salmonella poona_
strain, which caused this outbreak, is among those rare strains. It
has been implicated in food-borne illnesses in the past, Farrar said.
Last year, cantaloupes contaminated with _Salmonella poona_ sickened
46 people, including 26 in California. And in 1991, more than 400
people in 23 states and Canada became ill from the bacterium whose
source was reported to be cantaloupes grown in the Rio Grande Valley
region along the Texas-Mexico border.
Byline: Douglas E. Beeman & Jared O. Wadley)
--
ProMED-mail
<[log in to unmask]>
[The outbreak from last year cited above was reported on ProMED-mail almost
exactly one year ago. We did not receive information about the source of
fruit responsible for last year's outbreak. It seems possible that the
regional harvest seasons for cantaloupes will provide a clue as to the
source of the current outbreak. Follow-up reports with source information
for either year would be welcome. - Mod.ES]
...................................mpp/es
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