Fayetteville North Carolina WNCN Staff reports that investigators from the North Carolina Department of Health were at a hotel in Fayetteville again Friday. 14 investigators from Raleigh continued to look into reported cases of salmonella that are traced back to the Holiday Inn Bordeaux. The Cumberland County Health Department also had six staff members at the hotel Friday.

The county’s health department said Friday afternoon that 51 people reported having signs or symptoms consistent with salmonella infections, and five people have been hospitalized. Five cases of salmonella have been confirmed. All seem to have eaten at the All American Sports Bar and Grill and The Café Bordeaux within the hotel.

The health department said at least eight cases of salmonella symptoms were in people from out-of-state.

The hotel’s General Manager Scooter Deal said the first 14 reported cases were all staff members at the hotel, including himself.

WNCT | 9 On Your Side Greenville NC

Thanks Sarah.  Over at Food Safety News we are doing our best to provide links to all restaurant inspections.  See http://www.foodsafetynews.com/restaurant-inspections-in-your-area/#.UZauY4KhN9E

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the product was recalled April 28 after the Michigan Department of Agriculture found Salmonella Montevideo in routine sampling. The FDA also found Salmonella Mbandaka in further sampling of the same brand of tahini and the strain matches the DNA fingerprint of a strain associated with a small multi-state cluster of salmonellosis cases.

The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed that the infection in one of the Minnesota cases matches the Mbandaka outbreak strain and one matches the Montevideo strain. Neither child was hospitalized and both are recovering.

Samples of the tahini from the homes of the Minnesota cases have been collected and are being analyzed by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Laboratory.

The Krinos brand tahini sesame paste was distributed nationwide through retail stores. It is sold in 1 lb. glass jars, 2 lb. glass jars and in 40 lb. plastic pails. The UPC codes for the products are 0-75013-28500-3 (1 lb. jar), 0-75013-28510-2 (2 lb. jar) and 0-75013-04018-3 (40 lb. pail). The recalled lots have a code stamped on the lid of EXP JAN 01 – 2014 up to and including EXP JUN 08 – 2014 and EXP OCT 16 – 2014 up to and including EXP MAR 15 – 2015.

More information on the recall can be found on the FDA website: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm351630.htm.

In June of 1998, Georgia health officials were notified that a number of children had become ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections and were hospitalized in Atlanta-area hospitals.  Public health investigators interviewed victims’ families and learned that all had become ill after visiting the White Water Water Park.  The Georgia Department of Health eliminated other possible sources of exposure, such as contaminated food, and determined that contact with and ingestion of pool water infected most of the primary cases.

Twenty-six culture-confirmed E. coli cases were identified, and while health officials hypothesized that the outbreak was considerably larger, the outbreak size was never known due to under-reporting of illnesses.  Forty percent of children under five years of age with recognized E. coli infections were diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome.  One young two-year-old girl died.

Cases appeared on four different days, and all cases occurred within a period of eight days.  The largest number of infections took place on June 12, and the second-largest number of infections occurred on June 17, which led health officials to believe the E. coli was re-introduced to the park environment on June 17.  The PFGE pattern, or “genetic fingerprint” of the strain of bacteria isolated from ill individuals was indistinguishable between visitors to the park on June 11 and 12 and June 17.

Investigators considered three potential causes of contamination in their outbreak analysis:  repeat contamination of the park by an E. coli-infected person, persistence of bacteria in pool water overnight due to low chlorine levels, or persistence of bacteria in the pool environment but not in the water.  Low chlorine levels in the suspect pools were detected on all days of exposure, and it was never determined whether one of the pools had chlorine in it at the time when the exposures occurred.

As the CDC said today in “Microbes in Pool Filter Backwash as Evidence of the Need for Improved Swimmer Hygiene — Metro-Atlanta, Georgia, 2012:”

Filters physically remove contaminants, including microbes, from water in treated recreational water venues, such as pools. Because contaminants accumulate in filters, filter concentrates typically have a higher density of contamination than pool water. During the 2012 summer swimming season, filter concentrate samples were collected at metro-Atlanta public pools. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays were conducted to detect microbial nucleic acid. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was detected in 95 (59%) of 161 samples; detection indicates contamination from the environment (e.g., dirt), swimmers, or fomites (e.g., kickboards). P. aeruginosa detection underscores the need for vigilant pool cleaning, scrubbing, and water quality maintenance (e.g., disinfectant level and pH) to ensure that concentrations do not reach levels that negatively impact swimmer health. Escherichia coli, a fecal indicator, was detected in 93 (58%) samples; detection signifies that swimmers introduced fecal material into pool water. Fecal material can be introduced when it washes off of swimmers’ bodies or through a formed or diarrheal fecal incident in the water. The risk for pathogen transmission increases if swimmers introduce diarrheal feces. Although this study focused on microbial DNA in filters (not on illnesses), these findings indicate the need for swimmers to help prevent introduction of pathogens (e.g., taking a pre-swim shower and not swimming when ill with diarrhea), aquatics staff to maintain disinfectant level and pH according to public health standards to inactivate pathogens, and state and local environmental health specialists to enforce such standards.

No shit!

As of Thursday, May 16, at 2 p.m. there are 44 individuals with signs and symptoms consistent with Salmonella infection; 36 from North Carolina and eight out of state. Five people have been hospitalized.

As part of the ongoing investigation, the Health Department and the North Carolina Division of Public Health continue to ask individuals who consumed food or beverages at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux since May 1and then developed symptoms within three days of that visit to call the county Health Department at 910-433-3638.

Individuals in other North Carolina counties should contact their local public health departments.

The Holiday Inn Bordeaux serves food at two restaurants, the All American Sports Bar and Grill and the Café Bordeaux, and from their banquet kitchen.

The Health Department has also set up a “Salmonella Hotline” at 910-433-3824.

Cape Fear Valley Health System has a Care Link health education line staffed by registered nurses. Call at 615-LINK (5465) with questions about Salmonella infection.

Based on its investigation, the Health Department is now asking that individuals who consumed food or beverages at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux since May 1 and have developed symptoms within three days of that visit to call the department at 910-433-3638.

The Holiday Inn Bordeaux serves food at two restaurants, the All American Sports Bar and Grill and the Café Bordeaux, and from their banquet kitchen.

The Health Department has also set up a “Salmonella Hotline” at 910-433-3824. Cape Fear Valley Health System has a Care Link health education line staffed by registered nurses. Call at 615-LINK (5465) with questions about Salmonella infection.

“Sheep actually can harbor the bacteria in their intestinal system normally, so the bacteria is always about, but it’s not always causing disease,” Ms. Hamilton says.

Across the Tasman Sea, Australian press reports that the number of suspected Salmonella cases has reached 100, in the largest outbreak of its kind ever seen in the ACT.  It forced the Canberra and Calvary hospitals to activate their emergency response protocols on Tuesday evening, but by Wednesday afternoon, that had been cancelled as the number of people presenting at the emergency departments finally began falling.

Fifteen people had been hospitalized by Wednesday evening, with many more having been observed in emergency departments.  The outbreak was confined to people who ate at the newly opened Copa Brazilian Churrasco in Dickson on Saturday and Sunday.

The two outbreaks are not related.

As of Monday, the Health Department had identified 16 individuals with signs and symptoms consistent with salmonella: nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. All share a common denominator — they ate at the same establishment, the Holiday Inn Bordeaux, within the same time frame, Tuesday, May 7 and Wednesday, May 8. The Holiday Inn Bordeaux has two restaurants, the All American Sports Bar and Grill and The Café Bordeaux. There is also a banquet kitchen.

The Health Department is asking anyone who developed symptoms after eating at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux on Tuesday, May 7 or Wednesday, May 8 to call the department at 910-433-3638. Also, for additional information you can call the “Salmonella Hotline” at 910-433-3824.

To stop the further spread of the illness, the Health Department advises that handwashing is the best control measure.  People need to make sure they are staying hydrated and should seek medical care from their private doctor, urgent care or emergency room if their nausea, vomiting and diarrhea symptoms don’t improve.

According to a report just released by the Health Department, as of May 5, 2013 at least 196 patrons and 4 employees of Firefly who consumed food and/or drinks at Firefly restaurant during April 21-26, 2013 have been determined to be confirmed or probable cases of Salmonella infection.

Thus far, surveillance for additional cases revealed 200 people who became ill after eating at Firefly during April 21-26, 2013. The Epi-X posting resulted in reports of salmonellosis from five public health agencies outside of NV. From various surveillance data sources, we have received reports of illness from restaurant patrons who normally reside in twenty states:

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington and two foreign countries (Canada, United Kingdom).

Illness onset dates occurred within the April 22 to May 1, 2013 time frame.  The onset date with the peak number of ill restaurant patrons was April 24, 2013. Because the  incubation period for Salmonella is usually 12-36 hours, this might suggest that patrons who ate at Firefly on April 22-23, 2013 had the highest risk of exposure to the pathogen.

Serotyping of the isolates indicated that the outbreak strain was Salmonella (assigned with the antigenic code “I:4,5,12:i:-”.

According to Las Vegas press, an inspection report on Firefly on Paradise Road released Wednesday was cited for employees handling food without gloves and preparing food next to cleaning chemicals.  Records show Firefly received an “A” grade during a routine inspection last year. Now, it has been cited with 44 demerits..  First Full Report Here.