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Salmonella
Pudding Caused Illnesses at New Hampshire Camp Date Published: Thursday, April 30th, 2009 Source
of Article: http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/5854 We
recently reported that dozens of middle school children fell ill with Salmonella
poisoning. The unusually high incidence of absences prompted a Department of
Health and Human Services investigation (HHS), said The Eagle Tribune, which
is now reporting that health officials linked the outbreak to pudding served
to campers at Stone Environmental Camp. The camp was closed last week when a
second group of campers became infected with the dangerous, sometimes deadly,
pathogen, said The Eagle Tribune. Last
week, more students from two other schools became sick at the Stone
Environmental Camp while the outbreak was being investigated, said The Eagle
Tribune. State public health director Dr.
Jose Montero closed the camp during the investigation. When HHS found that
pudding was to blame and was able to locate the worker who prepared the
pudding, the state allowed the camp to reopen, said The Eagle Tribune. Salmonella
can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or
elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons
infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be
bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain within 12 to 72 hours of
contamination. Generally, the illness lasts a week, but, in some,
hospitalization is required because the infection may have spread to the
blood stream and other body sites, producing more severe illnesses such as
arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis.
Without treatment, severe cases of Salmonellosis can result in death.
Unfortunately, some Salmonella bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, largely
due to the use of antibiotics to promote the growth of feed animals. Salmonella
is usually found in food contaminated with animal feces and is a group of
bacteria that passes from the feces of people or animals to other people or
animals, causing contamination when food is improperly stored or handled and
when preparers do not wash their hands or sanitize implements involved in
food storage. Salmonella
is the most frequently reported cause of food-related outbreaks of stomach
illness worldwide and Salmonella poisoning can lead to Reiter’s Syndrome, a
difficult-to-treat reactive arthritis characterized by severe joint pain,
irritation of the eyes, and painful urination. A victim of Reiter’s Syndrome
may have already been treated for the initial infection, and it can be weeks
before the symptoms of Reiter’s Syndrome become apparent. Reiter’s Syndrome,
which can plague its victims for months or years, is said to occur when
reactive arthritis is evident and at least one other non-joint area, such as
the eyes, skin, or muscles, is affected. Salmonella
poisoning is the culprit in the massive food borne contamination linked to
the Peanut Corporation of America’s (PCA) peanuts and peanut products, the
multi-state Salmonella poisoning outbreak linked to a variety of SunSprout
Enterprises sprouts, tainted spices and other food products from the Union
International Food Company, and the growing pistachio recall linked to Setton
Pistachio, to name just some in recent days. |
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