Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

The Boise Co-Op, located at 888 West Fort Street in Boise, Idaho, has temporarily closed its deli after at least five dozen people tested positive for salmonella – this according to a Central District Health Department (CDHD) spokesperson, Public Information Officer Christine Myron. She told local reporters that as of Tuesday the department had 60 confirmed cases of salmonella, but expected that number to rise to as many as 100. Most cases seem to have been linked to food purchased at the deli between June 1st and 10th of this year, and according to Myron, inspectors “spent about two days…

So far, at least 18 victims of a Salmonella outbreak have been linked to the Bowling Green’s Heritage Corner Health Campus in Ohio, this according to the Wood County Health District (WCHD). The WCHD, in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Health (OHD) began its investigation after being made aware of the potential outbreak on June 9th. The victims began to get ill weeks earlier, in late May, with the first becoming symptomatic as early as May 24th. Due to ongoing concern for residents health, the dining hall at Heritage Corner Health Campus was closed, as was other common areas,…

According to the Idaho Central District Health Department (ICDHD), at least 30 victims have been identified in a Salmonella outbreak in and around Boise, Idaho. The ICDHD says the individuals were exposed to Salmonella tainted food between June 3rd and June 7th, but in keeping with policy have not revealed the name of the particular restaurant believed to be at the center of the outbreak. According to officials, the investigation is ongoing, indicating that the number of victims may grow as more information is gathered. Traditionally, it takes between one and four weeks for a suspected case of Salmonella food…

At least seven children have taken ill with E. coli after attending a daycare in South Carolina, this according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). Tragically, one of the 2 year old victims died in May, while two others remain hospitalized. The outbreak has been traced back to the Learning Vine in Greenwood, SC, where officials have closed the day care center for thorough cleaning, allowing it to reopen under an agreement with the DHEC. According to DHEC, all seven of the victims acquired E. coli, and to date at least four of the seven have been…

According to the Kenosha County Division of Health (KCDH) at least 35 individuals have now tested positive for the same strain of Salmonella – further analysis has confirmed the same DNA fingerprint for each of the victims. The victims are part of a larger outbreak affecting at least 70 individuals who ate pork carnitas at the Supermercado Los Corrales on Mother’s Day of this year. As the individual victims presented for medical care, health authorities interviewed them and determined that Supermercado Los Corrales was at the center of the outbreak. Health officials immediately sent an inspector who took food samples.…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has just released an update into the investigation into Salmonella linked to imported raw tuna. According to the CDC, which is working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state health agencies in affected states, the nine-state outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi has yet to be traced to a single supplier. The investigation has, however, linked the illnesses to eating raw tuna in sushi in the days leading up to the onset of salmonellosis. In fact, 36 of the 37 victims (or 97%) interviewed reported eating sushi in the days leading…

Health officials from both Kenosha County Health Department (KCHD) and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WDHS) are currently investigating an outbreak of Salmonella in which nearly two dozen people have become ill after purchasing and consuming food from the Los Corrales Supermarket. According to KCHD’s Mark Melotick, an environmental manager, all of the victims report having eaten meat purchased from Los Corrales Supermarket. At least three of the victims, Amanda Acosta, Nick Jacquest and Michael Brown, recalled eating pork carnitas on May 10, one day before they developed symptoms consistent with Salmonellosis. Nick told a local reporter: “We all…

The national outbreak of the rare strain of Salmonella, Salmonella Paratyphi, has sickened a number of victims in Arizona, including at least nine victims in Maricopa County. Three of these have been hospitalized, according to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. The illnesses are part of a national trend, and like in other states, the victims nearly universally admit to consuming sushi made with tuna – the common ingredient. The sushi outbreak in Maricopa County, as in other states, is not linked to a particular establishment, but seems to be distributed amongst different restaurants serving sushi made with tuna.…

Between April 4th and May 1st of this year, health officials from the New Mexico Department of Health and the City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department have identified at least 6 victims of an outbreak of a rare strain of Salmonella, serotype Salmonella Paratyphi. Five of the victims are resident of Bernalillo County, and one is a resident of Sandoval County. This is believed to be a part of a larger outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi linked to tainted sushi – there are other cases pending in other states and the wider investigation is being investigated by the Centers for Disease…

Inspections follow in the wake of Listeria Outbreak According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Blue Bell Creameries has been aware that some of its plant surfaces had tested positive for Listeria since at least 2013. The FDA inspection reports released earlier today show that Blue Bell’s plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, had tested positive for Listeria on five occasions in 2013, ten occasions 2014, and once in January of this year – all before the current outbreak became public. These tests should have been red flags, strong signals of a potential listeria outbreak on the horizon, but production…