Cholera

  • Heston stopped serving raw oysters; FDA links cholera outbreak to Florida raw oysters; at least 9 sick

    Posted: May 10th, 2011 - 1:32pm by Doug Powell

    raw.oyster.jpg

    After making 529 people sick in a March 2009 outbreak of norovirus at his Fat Duck restaurant, Heston Blumenthal says he has stopped serving raw oysters.

    At least that’s what he told the New Zealand Herald yesterday.

    "I've not served an oyster in here, in the Crown, in the Duck or in London since that happened. I don't know if I'll ever change."

    Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advised consumers, restaurant operators, commercial shippers and processors of shellfish not to eat, serve, purchase, sell or ship oysters from Area 1642 in Apalachicola Bay, Fla. because the oysters may be contaminated with toxigenic Vibrio cholerae serogroup O75.

    • Nine persons have been reported with illness. For eight, the illness was confirmed as caused by toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O75; laboratory confirmation is pending in the other person. No one was hospitalized or died.

    • All ill persons reported consumption of raw or lightly steamed oysters.

    • Traceback indicates that oysters harvested from Area 1642 in Apalachicola Bay, Fla., between March 21 and April 6, 2011, are associated with illness.

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    Raw Food  |  0 Comments
    Cholera, florida, food safety, heston, norovirus, oyster, Raw
  • Go to city hall next time: cholera crashes wedding in Dominican

    Posted: January 28th, 2011 - 10:43pm by Doug Powell

    In an impressive display of microorganisms ignoring political borders, rhetoric and social class, a south Asian strain of cholera suspected to have originated with Nepalese United Nations peacekeepers stationed in central Haiti is thought to have contaminated lobsters collected served at a lavish wedding at a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic and sickened many guests.

    Dozens of international guests at a family celebration – some reports said it was a wedding – were stricken with vomiting and diarrhea after eating apparently contaminated lobster.

    Dominican health officials said that at least 37 of the 500 guests at Casa de Campo, a five-star complex in the Dominican Republic, had tested positive for cholera, including Fernando Hazoury, whose family owns a separate luxury resort, and guests from Spain, Mexico and the U.S.

    The health minister, Bautista Rojas, said lobsters for last Saturday's wedding came from Pedernales, a town bordering Haiti, where about 3,800 have died and 189,000 fallen ill since October.

    Venezuelan Health Minister Eugenia Sader said Friday that 111 people went to the hospital to be checked for cholera after attending the wedding.

    Authorities were still trying to locate the rest of the 452 Venezuelans who traveled to the Dominican Republic for the January 22 wedding.

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    Other Microorganisms  |  1 Comment
    Cholera, Dominican, food safety, haiti, wedding creashers
  • Vietnam closes 60 dog meat slaughterhouses and restaurants after cholera bacteria found

    Posted: July 13th, 2010 - 4:13am by Doug Powell

    Continuing on with the cultural preferences for various protein sources, Vietnam closed around 60 dog meat restaurants and slaughterhouses in outlying parts of Hanoi after cholera bacteria were found in two of the animals.

    Le Anh Tuan, director of the Hanoi health department, said businesses will be allowed to reopen in two weeks provided they are cholera-free and the owners can show their meat comes from hygienic sources.

    Dog meat is a delicacy for many Vietnamese, who believe eating it in the second half of the lunar calendar month helps dispel bad luck.
     

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    Cholera, dog, Meat, Slaughterhouse, Vietnam
  • Malaysian cooks blamed for cholera outbreak

    Posted: December 15th, 2009 - 10:39am by Doug Powell

    Non-compliance with personal hygiene by cooks, food handlers and the public is the main cause of the recent cholera outbreak in Terengganu, Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said yesterday.

    "We took a number of samples from cholera-contaminated food premises, ice manufacturing factories, factories that produce keropok lekor and wet markets. We found that the drinking water at these outlets was not contaminated, showing that the spread was from the people infected with the disease. … We need public cooperation, especially from those who prepare and handle food. They must adhere to personal hygiene."

    The disease broke out in October and affected 188 people. One of them died.
     

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    Handwashing  |  2 Comments
    Cholera, Cooks, Malaysia