Russia - 200 Preschool Children Ill with "Acute Intestinal Flu" - Substandard Chinese Fruit Blamed

[alert]

Likely a salmonella outbreak. The term "food poisoning" in this context likely means acute intestinal illness - I don't think they are suspecting an intentional poisoning.

Foodborne illness is almost never actually viral - the mention of virus below is likely media misspeak, just as people say they have a "stomach virus".

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert_read.php?cid=24751

Over 200 children, most of them younger than three years, have been hospitalized with acute intestinal infection in the Magadan Region in the Russian Far East, reported on Sunday. Doctors believe the children were poisoned after eating imported fruits - bananas, apples and citruses - largely supplied from China. Local health authorities are taking measures to contain the spread of the virus. Doctors say the virus has affected whole families in the area, with children hit hardest. The infection is likely to subside in spring when navigation will allow domestic food supplies into the subarctic region.

[Sally Furniss]

Re: 200+ children ill with possible food poisoning

It is not possible to gauge whether it is or it isn't a salmonella from this report.

[alert]

Re: 200+ children ill with possible food poisoning

I agree that it isn't possible to tell exactly what the etiology here is.

My comment above was a reference to p. 282 of Alton Brown's (of Good Eats TV fame) cookbook "I'm Just Here for the Food", in which he states that food poisoning is rarely viral because viruses "can only survive in living tissue, so they very rarely rear their ugly little heads" in foodborne illness, where the food is likely not alive at the time of consumption.

[Farmer]

Re: 200+ children ill with possible food poisoning

I agree that it isn't possible to tell exactly what the etiology here is.
/snip/.

I second that. But do not discount viruses.

Norovirus (NoV) is one of the most commonly reported causes of foodborne outbreaks in the US. These outbreaks are severely under reported as well, because there are no culture methods to detect the virus in food or biological samples. Few states bother with following up sending samples for analysis by the molecular methods which are not widely available among labs.

"In 2000, an estimated 50% of foodborne outbreaks in 6 states were attributable to NoV. NoV outbreaks were larger than bacterial outbreaks (median persons affected: 25 versus 15), and 10% of affected persons sought medical care; 1% were hospitalized."

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol11no01/04-0426.htm

[sharon sanders]

Russia - 200 Preschool Children Ill with "Acute Intestinal Flu" - Substandard Chinese Fruit Blamed

18:21 01/02/2010

Медики Колымы борются со вспышкой острого кишечного гриппа , которым в Магадане заболели уже более 200 детей дошкольного возраста, сообщил РИА Новости в понедельник представитель областного управления Роспотребнадзора.

Physicians Kolyma struggling with an outbreak of acute intestinal flu, which in Magadan sick for more than 200 preschool children, told RIA Novosti on Monday, the representative of the regional department of Rospotrebnadzor.

Лабораторные анализы показали, что причиной заболевания стали некачественные китайские фрукты.

Laboratory tests showed that the cause of the disease were substandard Chinese fruit. (fruit causing a virus?? - S.)


snip


In February 2010, in Magadan, more than 200 pre-school children fell ill with acute intestinal flu. The cause of the disease, as shown by laboratory tests, were substandard Chinese fruit peel on which the doctors discovered pathogens, which provoked widespread infectious diseases.

http://eco.rian.ru/documents/20100201/207246550.html

[alert]

Re: Russia - 200 Preschool Children Ill with "Acute Intestinal Flu" - Substandard Chinese Fruit Blamed

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=339377

I believe this is the same outbreak as this thread.

[sharon sanders]

Re: Russia - 200 Preschool Children Ill with "Acute Intestinal Flu" - Substandard Chinese Fruit Blamed

Merged. Thanks.

[alert]

Re: Russia - 200 Preschool Children Ill with "Acute Intestinal Flu" - Substandard Chinese Fruit Blamed

And a ProMED posting. Looks like we were all wrong - rotavirus. The predominance of illnesses in children might have been a clue.

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f?p=2400:1001:4497960887770066::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,81187

Archive Number 20100203.0370
Published Date 03-FEB-2010
Subject PRO/EDR> Rotavirus gastroenteritis, fruit - Russia (MG) ex China


ROTAVIRUS GASTROENTERITIS, FRUIT - RUSSIA (MAGADAN) ex CHINA
************************************************** **********
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Mon 1 Feb 2010
Source: FreshPlaza, Thaindian News/ report [edited]
<http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=58041>


Russia: 200 children hospitalised after eating Chinese fruits
-------------------------------------------------------------
Over 200 children, most of them younger than 3 years, were
hospitalised with acute intestinal infection after eating fruits
imported from China, the Rossiya TV channel reported on Sunday [31 Jan
2010].

According to doctors, the children were poisoned after eating imported
fruits -- bananas, apples, and citrus fruits -- mostly supplied from
China.

Health authorities are taking measures to contain the spread of the
[infection] which has affected the entire Magadanskaya Oblast in the
country's Far East, with children hit hardest, the TV channel said.

The infection is predicted to subside in spring [2010] when navigation
will allow domestic food supplies into the subarctic region, the
report said.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-RUS
<promed-rus@promedmail.org>


[According to a Russian language report in TSN.ua of 31 Jan 2010
(<http://ru.tsn.ua/svit/v-rossii-bolshe-200-detei-zarazilis-grippom-iz-za-kitaiskih-fruktov.html>), the majority of the patients were 3 years-of age or younger, and the source of the infection was rotavirus contamination of the skins of fruit -- apples, bananas, and citrus fruits -- imported from
China.

Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea among children,
resulting in the death of over 600 000 children annually worldwide.
The incubation period for rotavirus disease is approximately 2 days.
The disease is characterized by vomiting and watery diarrhea for 3-8
days, and fever and abdominal pain occur frequently. Immunity after
infection is incomplete, but repeat infections tend to be less severe
than the original infection. The primary mode of transmission is
fecal-oral, although some have reported low titers of virus in
respiratory tract secretions and other body fluids. Because the virus
is stable in the environment, transmission can occur through ingestion
of contaminated water or food and contact with contaminated surfaces.
Consequently citrus and other fruits should be thoroughly washed and
then peeled before feeding to young children. In countries with a
temperate climate, the disease has a winter seasonal pattern, with
annual epidemics occurring from November to April. The highest rates
of illness occur among infants and young children, but adults can also
be infected, though disease tends to be mild. A rotavirus vaccine has
recently become available which is effective in preventing rotavirus
gastroenteritis.

The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Russia is available at
<http://healthmap.org/r/014f>.
Magadanskaya Oblast (Magadan Region) in the Far East of Russia can be
located on the map at
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magadan_Oblast>.
A map of the Magadanskaya Oblast can be accessed at
<http://map.rin.ru/cgi-bin/main_e.pl?Region=magadan>. - Mods.NP/CP]