Peanut Corp of America widens salmonella recall

[8 years and at least 12 cases of salmonella infected peanut butter later] FDA inspectors discover more strains of salmonella at the Georgia plant in the center of salmonella poisoning

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration yesterday said Peanut Corp of America would expand its recall to include all peanut products produced at its Blakely, Georgia plant since January 1, 2007, after FDA inspectors discovered more strains of salmonella at the plant.

Colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Gram-negative bacilli, or rod-shaped Salmonella sp. The genus Salmonella is a member of the taxonomic family, Enterobacteriaceae, and approximately 2000 serotypes of this genis are known to cause disease in human beings. Photo Credit: Janice Haney Carr/CDC

Case count is 501 in 43 states with latest confirmed, reported illness beginning on January 8, 2009, CDC said.

“These additional products are being recalled because there is concern of potential salmonella contamination, including contamination with salmonella strains not associated with the current outbreak,” Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition said.

Persons Infected with the Outbreak Strain of Salmonella Typhimurium, United States, by State, September 1, 2008 to January 25, 2009. Image: CDC

Sundlof stressed, however, that so far the only illnesses linked to salmonella poisoning in peanut products was caused by Salmonella Typhimurium strain.

“CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and FDA will continue to monitor incidents of salmonella illness throughout the country,” he said.

“Sundlof said the expanded recall now includes all peanuts [dry and roasted ,] granulated peanuts, peanut meal, peanut butter and peanut paste made at the Blakely, Georgia facility, which has stopped production of all products. Reuters reported.

FDA officials don’t know how many more products will be included in the widened recall. Check their website at http:/www.fda.gov for updates.

The recall so far includes about 200 products in the United States, Canada and Britain, from crackers to dog treats. Reuters said.

Click to Search for Peanut Butter Product Recalls

Related Links:

• Don’t Eat Peanut Butter Products!
• 10 Biggest Threats to the US National Security
• STATEMENT: Peanut Corporation of America

Don’t Eat Peanut Butter Products!

FDA and CDC Advise Against Peanut Butter Products Pending Salmonella Outbreak Investigation

The FDA and CDC Saturday recommended consumers not eat products containing peanut butter (including candy, cereal, cookies, crackers, and ice cream) until it could be established whether those products are responsible for the ongoing salmonella outbreak, which has so far sickened some 474 people in 43 states and may have contributed to 6 deaths.

The outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium is blamed on Peanut butter.  Peanut butter and products containing peanut paste made by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) at a processing plant in Blakely, Ga., have already been recalled.

About a quarter of the known cases required  hospitalizations and the infections may have contributed to six deaths, according to Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the Centers’ division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases.

The reported sicknesses began in September, but have since grown in numbers with more than 20 cases reported on January 16. The very young, elderly and immunocompromised are most at risk.

“In terms of food products which contain peanut butter, but have not yet been recalled, we urge consumers to postpone eating these products until information becomes available about whether that product may be affected,” FDA said.

Kellogg announced it was voluntarily recalling some of its Austin and Keebler brand peanut butter sandwich crackers, as well as snack-size Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies.

Eating food contaminated with Salmonella can result in abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and fever. Most people infected with Salmonella develop the symptoms 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover with treatment. However, in some persons, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. For more information on Salmonella bacteria, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Website at http://www.cdc.gov.

Peanut Corporation of America is a family-owned and operated business since 1976 based in Lynchburg, VA and operating facilities in Blakely, GA, Suffolk, VA and Plainview, TX.

Related Links:

• Peanut Corporation of America Announces Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Peanut Butter
• STATEMENT: Peanut Corporation of America

Viral hemorrhagic fever kills 4 in Johannesburg

Killer virus in South Africa identified

South African health officials  have identified a viral hemorrhagic fever which killed four people in Johannesburg. They believe the bug is a new strain of the deadly arenavirus.

Vero E6 tissue culture cell infected with an arenavirus.  Image shows extracellular virus particles budding from the cell surface.  Magnification approx. 12,000 times. Image courtesy Cynthia Goldsmith, MS, Infectious Disease Pathology Activity, DVRD, NCID, CDC.

Epidemic curve of cases of infection with an arenavirus, South Africa, September – October 2008. Source: Special Pathogens Unit and Epidemiology Division, NICD; Gauteng Provincial Outbreak Response Team and partners; SA-FELTP residents; Department of Anatomical Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand and the National Health Laboratory Service. Image may be subject to copyright.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified the new strain, which has not been named yet.  that has yet to be named, said Barry Schoub, executive director of the National Insititute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).

“The virus is new in terms of its genetic make up and there is currently no vaccine against it, [and has] high lethal potential for humans.” said Barry Schoub, executive director of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).

South Africa’s department of health first identified the disease in a woman who was airlifted from Zambia to a Johannesburg hospital in September, 2008. AFP reported.

The female patient, a member of the medical staff who accompanied her, a nurse and a hospital cleaner who came into contact with her, later died.

“A last person who is currently under observation at a hospital is responding well to (anti-viral) treatment,” said Janusz Paweska, head of a special pathogens unit at NICD.

What are the Arenaviridae? (Source CDC)

The Arenaviridae are a family of viruses whose members are generally associated with rodent-transmitted disease in humans. Each virus usually is associated with a particular rodent host species in which it is maintained. Arenavirus infections are relatively common in humans in some areas of the world and can cause severe illnesses.

The virus particles are spherical and have an average diameter of 110-130 nanometers. All are enveloped in a lipid (fat) membrane. Viewed in cross-section, they show grainy particles that are ribosomes acquired from their host cells. It is this characteristic that gave them their name, derived from the Latin “arena,” which means “sandy.” Their genome, or genetic material, is composed of RNA only, and while their replication strategy is not completely understood, we know that new viral particles, called virions, are created by budding from the surface of their hosts’ cells. (Source: CDC).  Fact Sheet (PDF)

Related Links

• National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD)
• Arenaviridae

MRSA: ACT II

NEW NT-MRSA Strains

The Emerging Infectious Diseases of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered a new strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is responsible to more than 20 percent of all human MRSA infections in the Netherlands.

“Persons working or living in close contact with pigs or cows are at increased risk of becoming colonized and infected with MRSA. Infections can be severe, as is indicated by the hospital admission rate.”

According to other research MRSA was also prevalent in Canadian pigs and pig farmers. Full report

Related link: Should We Be Afraid of MRSA?

Should We Be Afraid of MRSA?

MRSA [Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus] was discovered in the United Kingdom in 1961, but it is now a global concern. MRSA (also known as CA-MRSA, community-acquired MRSA, and HA-MRSA, hospital-acquired MRSA) is a variation of a common bacterium, which has evolved as a “superbug” with the ability to resist treatment with antibiotics, including methicillin and penicillin.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MRSA is responsible for 94,000 serious infections and nearly 19,000 deaths each year in the United States. [In comparison, the AIDS virus killed about 12,500 Americans  in 2005. ]

Related Links:
CDC – Healthcare-Associated MRSA
MRSA infection