Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

Children at Higher Risk for Foodborne Illness – Food Poisoning: Kids, especially little ones, don’t have much say regarding what they eat. It’s a good thing, though, or else it may very well be ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Because they have limited control over their diet, and are reliant on their parents and other adults to feed them safe foods and use safe food preparation practices, they are at increased risk for foodborne illness. In fact, roughly one-half of all foodborne illnesses that are reported are on behalf of children. The Center for Disease Control reports that…

Mexican Produce And Food Poisoning: Two Major Food-Borne Outbreaks this Summer linked to Mexican Produce Out of the CDC’s 12 food-borne outbreak investigations of 2019 thus far, 2 of these are linked to produce from Mexico. The first outbreak linked to Mexican produce was investigated by the CDC and published on July 5, 2019. This was a Salmonella Uganda outbreak linked to Cavi brand Papayas imported from Mexico. There are 71 cases reported, 27 hospitalizations, spanning across 8 states including Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas, with no reported deaths. While there was no…

Cyclospora Cayetanensis Diagnosis The number of Cyclospora outbreaks in the United States have been unusually high this summer. Furthermore, the number of domestically obtained cases have increased since the beginning of the summer and continue to. The CDC published on July 23, 2019,  “580 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis were reported to CDC by 30 states, District of Columbia and New York City in people who have become ill since May 1, 2019 and who had no history of international travel during the 14-day period before illness onset”. While these cases have not been caused by personal travel, many are caused…

The Importance of Parental and Administrative Involvement in Cafeteria Food Safety As summer draws to an end, parents and children eagerly anticipate the beginning of the new school year. During this time, it is important for parents and school administration to reevaluate the food safety and quality standards of their school cafeteria. While it is easy to be complacent about the cafeteria nutrition, it is imperative that school cafeterias be held to high standards for their food safety and quality as they cater to one of the most susceptible and precious sectors of society, our children. Children are particularly at…

Cyclospora Outbreak at Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida. The reason that Cooper’s Hawk Winery’s restaurant dishes up delicious fare is likely to blame for an outbreak of Cyclospora linked to their establishment. The restaurant assures its customers and prides itself on incorporating ‘peak of the season’ ingredients into its dishes, and, suffusing them with ‘flavors from around the world.’ This is great- who wouldn’t want foods prepared to this in this manner? The problem is that Cyclospora, the parasite that makes those it inhabits ill, also loves fresh produce and especially those from tropical lands. And, because…

Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, Linked to Legionnaires Disease Outbreak The four-star hotel, Sheraton Atlanta, located in the heart of Atlanta Georgia, was temporarily closed due to an outbreak of Legionnaires disease. One woman, 49 years old, has died. The woman, having stayed at the downtown hotel in late June, became ill after her stay and lab tests confirmed her connection to the disease that impacts roughly 5000 people annually. Of those exposed to the illness roughly 10 percent will die.  And, according to the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office, the woman found dead in her home on July 9th died of…

Westfield Regional Health Department officials meet to discuss the Current New Jersey Cyclospora Outbreak: On Monday, August 9, the Westfield Board of Health held a general meeting in which they discussed the growing New Jersey Cyclospora Outbreak which has already affected many resident people in Westfield, NJ. The Westfield Regional Health Department discussed the local impact of the nationwide outbreak of cyclospora linked to fresh basil.  According to the Regional Health Department close to 30 cyclospora cases have been reported from Chatham Borough, Fanwood, Garwood, Mountainside, New Providence, Roselle Park, Summit and Westfield.  Health Department officials stated that the first…

Cyclospora Outbreaks and the Effects it has on People: You can contract Cyclospora in a couple different ways. Most commonly, Cyclospora comes from fresh fruits and vegetables, like lettuce and raspberries. So, most of the time, this means that the fruit or vegetable that you became ill from came in direct contact with another person who was infected – in short, their feces was passed to the food they touched because of a failure to practice good personal hygiene.   Another way is through contact with contaminated water that contains fecal material, such as sewage water. In recent years, usually, it…

The Dangers of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome to Kids: Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, otherwise known as HUS, is a serious condition. However, it actually starts from something that, while serious, is not life-threatening to most of its victims. HUS is a side-effect in some people, usually those with compromised immune systems, of infection with E. coli.  But its important to know that, like any kind of like germ, there are good bacteria and bad bacteria. So, most types of E. coli are actually completely harmless and will actually help with keeping your digestive tract nice and clean. Did you know E. coli…

Legionnaires Lawyer Speaks Out as 61 Likely Victims are Identified in the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel Legionnaires Outbreak. Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, a downtown hotel located in Atlanta, GA, has been linked to a legionnaire’s disease outbreak which has infected at least 61 people and caused one death. On Wednesday August 8th, Nancy Nydam, director of communications at the Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH) officially announced the death of Cameo Garret. Miss Garret, who was only 49, attended a conference at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel on June 29th. It was reported that she died from a coronary artery disease that had…