Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2015/09/news-scan-sep-22-2015
News Scan for Sep 22, 2015
140 more cucumber Salmonella cases; Salmonella prison terms; Personal 'microbial cloud'
Filed Under:
Salmonella; ; Foodborne Disease; Misc Emerging Topics [h=3]Cucumber-linked Salmonella outbreak total climbs to 558[/h] The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that 140 more infections and one more death have been reported in a multistate outbreak linked to cucumbers tainted with strains of Salmonella Poona.
The national total now stands at 558, with fatalities rising to three. Two more states are affected, raising that total to 33 (see CDC map).
The most recent illness-onset date is Sep 11. Of 387 patients with available information, 112 (29%) were hospitalized. Arizona reported the most recent death, and the two newly affected states are Iowa and South Dakota.
Public health labs in Arizona, Montana, and San Diego have isolated the outbreak strains from the affected cucumbers, which were imported from Mexico and distributed by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce to several states. The outbreak investigation has prompted several recalls.
Sep 22 CDC update
[h=3]Peanut execs get stiff prison terms for Salmonella outbreak[/h] Former CEO of the now-defunct Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) Stewart Parnell and his brother were given 20-plus-year prison terms for their part in a large 2009 Salmonella outbreak caused by their company's peanut butter, by far the stiffest US sentences ever handed down for a foodborne outbreak, USA Today reported today.
US District Judge W. Louis Sands in Georgia sentenced the 61-year-old Parnell to 28 years in prison and his 56-year-old brother Michael to 20 years. The younger Parnell served as a PCA broker. Judge Sands also sentenced Mary Wilkerson, 41, a former quality control manager, to 5 years' jail time.
Indictments in 2013 revealed that PCA officials knowingly shipped peanut products that had tested positive for Salmonella, among other crimes. The ensuing outbreak sickened at least 714 people in 46 states and killed at least 9.
Stewart Parnell was convicted last September on 71 criminal counts, including conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and introduction of adulterated food.
In April, egg producers Austin "Jack" DeCoster and his son, Peter, received 3 months in jail for their roles in a 1,939-case Salmonella outbreak in 2010.
Sep 21 USA Today story
[h=3]Study details 'microbial cloud' unique to each person[/h] People's microbiome extends to the air around them like a microbial cloud of millions of bacteria that can be traced back to an individual, according to a study today in PeerJ.
US researchers placed 11 people in a sanitized chamber alone and found that, within 1.5 and 4 hours, each person could be identified based on their unique combinations of bacteria collected by samplers in the surrounding air. They also found that three people sharing the room could be distinguished from each other in the same way.
They used an unoccupied chamber as a control.
"We expected that we would be able to detect the human microbiome in the air around a person, but we were surprised to find that we could identify most of the occupants just by sampling their microbial cloud," said lead author James F. Meadow, PhD, of the University of Oregon, in a PeerJ press release.
"Our results confirm that an occupied space is microbially distinct from an unoccupied one, and demonstrate for the first time that individuals release their own personalized microbial cloud," the authors concluded.
The findings might help understand the mechanisms involved in infectious disease spread indoors and one day aid in the field of forensics, the release said.
Sep 22 PeerJ study
Sep 22 PeerJ press release
News Scan for Sep 22, 2015
140 more cucumber Salmonella cases; Salmonella prison terms; Personal 'microbial cloud'
Filed Under:
Salmonella; ; Foodborne Disease; Misc Emerging Topics [h=3]Cucumber-linked Salmonella outbreak total climbs to 558[/h] The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that 140 more infections and one more death have been reported in a multistate outbreak linked to cucumbers tainted with strains of Salmonella Poona.
The national total now stands at 558, with fatalities rising to three. Two more states are affected, raising that total to 33 (see CDC map).
The most recent illness-onset date is Sep 11. Of 387 patients with available information, 112 (29%) were hospitalized. Arizona reported the most recent death, and the two newly affected states are Iowa and South Dakota.
Public health labs in Arizona, Montana, and San Diego have isolated the outbreak strains from the affected cucumbers, which were imported from Mexico and distributed by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce to several states. The outbreak investigation has prompted several recalls.
Sep 22 CDC update
[h=3]Peanut execs get stiff prison terms for Salmonella outbreak[/h] Former CEO of the now-defunct Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) Stewart Parnell and his brother were given 20-plus-year prison terms for their part in a large 2009 Salmonella outbreak caused by their company's peanut butter, by far the stiffest US sentences ever handed down for a foodborne outbreak, USA Today reported today.
US District Judge W. Louis Sands in Georgia sentenced the 61-year-old Parnell to 28 years in prison and his 56-year-old brother Michael to 20 years. The younger Parnell served as a PCA broker. Judge Sands also sentenced Mary Wilkerson, 41, a former quality control manager, to 5 years' jail time.
Indictments in 2013 revealed that PCA officials knowingly shipped peanut products that had tested positive for Salmonella, among other crimes. The ensuing outbreak sickened at least 714 people in 46 states and killed at least 9.
Stewart Parnell was convicted last September on 71 criminal counts, including conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and introduction of adulterated food.
In April, egg producers Austin "Jack" DeCoster and his son, Peter, received 3 months in jail for their roles in a 1,939-case Salmonella outbreak in 2010.
Sep 21 USA Today story
[h=3]Study details 'microbial cloud' unique to each person[/h] People's microbiome extends to the air around them like a microbial cloud of millions of bacteria that can be traced back to an individual, according to a study today in PeerJ.
US researchers placed 11 people in a sanitized chamber alone and found that, within 1.5 and 4 hours, each person could be identified based on their unique combinations of bacteria collected by samplers in the surrounding air. They also found that three people sharing the room could be distinguished from each other in the same way.
They used an unoccupied chamber as a control.
"We expected that we would be able to detect the human microbiome in the air around a person, but we were surprised to find that we could identify most of the occupants just by sampling their microbial cloud," said lead author James F. Meadow, PhD, of the University of Oregon, in a PeerJ press release.
"Our results confirm that an occupied space is microbially distinct from an unoccupied one, and demonstrate for the first time that individuals release their own personalized microbial cloud," the authors concluded.
The findings might help understand the mechanisms involved in infectious disease spread indoors and one day aid in the field of forensics, the release said.
Sep 22 PeerJ study
Sep 22 PeerJ press release