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“Gross
Contamination’ in Cheese Linked to Illinois Food Poisoning Date Published: Thursday, April 16th, 2009 Source
of Article: http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/5641 Following
reports of an array of food borne
illnesses in Illinois, tests have just confirmed “gross contamination” in
samples of cheese likely linked to the sicknesses of at least three people in
Winnebago County, Illinois. Four additional cases are under investigation
reported the Rockford Register Star. On
Tuesday, the health department reported three confirmed cases of
Campylobacter jejuni; Wednesday, Sue Fuller, a spokeswoman at the Illinois Department of Public Health,
confirmed Listeria and fecal coliform contamination. The contaminations were
all found in illegally manufactured cheese, said the Rockford Register Star. The
cheese, reported the Rockford Register Star, is “white, shaped into rounds,
and packaged in unmarked food-storage bags,” adding that the contaminated
cheese was typically “sold out of cars and trucks in parking lots near” …
“churches or markets.” The Rockford Register said inspectors discovered some
cheese at a retail outlet. Fuller explained, said the Rockford Register, that
the operators selling the cheese would most likely not be fined, but would
undergo an educational program. As of yesterday, another 30-to-50 locations
were being looked at; 20 were looked at Tuesday. Campylobacter
jejuni causes Campylobacteriosis, one of the most common food borne diarrheal
illnesses in the United States, and is generally spread via raw or
undercooked poultry. Larger outbreaks are usually associated with
unpasteurized milk or contaminated water. Symptoms tend to start two-to-five
days after exposure and last about one week, causing diarrhea, fever,
abdominal pain, cramping, nausea and vomiting; fever is typical and the
diarrhea is often bloody. Some people can suffer long-term consequences such
as arthritis and Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can require intensive care.
The tests to link the Campylobacter infection to the tainted cheese are
complicated and may not be completed until next week, said the Rockford
Register. Regarding
the Listeria contamination, Fuller told the Rockford Register, “We did find
out that the Listeria is Listeria monocytogenes, one of the more severe
types.” Listeriosis, the food poisoning generated by Listeria monocytogenes,
is particularly dangerous to the elderly, pregnant women, newborns, those
with chronic medical conditions, people with HIV, or those undergoing
chemotherapy. In serious cases, the disease spreads to the nervous system,
causing headaches, stiff neck, and convulsions. Listeriosis can also cause
meningitis and blood poisoning in immune-compromised individuals. In pregnant
women, Listeriosis can result in miscarriage, stillbirth, or birth of a baby
suffering from the infection. Pregnant women are about 20 times likelier than
others to be infected, with about one-third of Listeriosis cases occurring
during pregnancy; the incidence of Listeriosis in newborns is 8.6 per 100,000
live births and the perinatal and neonatal mortality rate (stillbirths and
early infant deaths) is 80 percent. Fuller
noted that “the fecal coliform is quite high, 150,000 colonies per gram, so
this is considered gross contamination,” quoted the Rockford Register. Fecal
coliform bacteria are a group of bacteria passed through fecal excrement,
with the most common member being Escherichia coli (E. coli). E. coli is a
diarrheagenic bacteria termed “enterohemorrhagic E. coli” that cause serious
and sometimes deadly infections with symptoms that range from mild diarrhea
to more profound watery or bloody diarrhea with severe abdominal cramping. |
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