Published Date: 2007-08-14 16:00:13
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> E. coli O157 - UK (Scotland): sliced meat susp
Archive Number: 20070814.2655
E. COLI O157 - UNITED KINGDOM (SCOTLAND): SLICED MEAT SUSPECTED
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Date: Tue 14 Aug 2007
Source: The Telegraph (UK) [edited]
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/14/necoli214.xml>
A 66-year-old woman has died and 2 others are seriously ill in
hospital after an outbreak of _E. coli_ that may be linked to cold
meat bought from a supermarket. A total of 7 people have contracted
_E. coli_ O157, the most serious form of the infection, in Paisley,
outside Glasgow.
Health officials said today [14 Aug 2007] that early inquiries
suggested that the outbreak could have come from meat bought at 2
supermarkets belonging to the Morrisons chain in the town. Members of
the public have been warned not to eat sliced cold meat purchased
from the stores over the past few weeks and to contact their doctor
if they feel ill.
The 1st outbreaks of the infection, involving 2 separate families,
were identified last Fri 10 Aug 2007. Early on Mon 13 Aug 2007, one
of the 1st affected, a 66-year-old disabled woman, died at the Royal
Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. Her 72-year-old husband and a
71-year-old woman are still seriously ill in the hospital.
The outbreak is thought to have affected 2 unrelated families and
another 2 individuals.
Dr Syed Ahmed, head of the outbreak control team at NHS (National
Health Service) Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGG), said: "While there
is no conclusive evidence yet, initial investigations have indicated
that there may possibly be a link to the consumption of some sliced
cold meats bought locally from the delicatessen counters of 2
Morrisons supermarkets in Paisley."
Professor Hugh Pennington, from Aberdeen University, said there was a
history of the infection being passed through ready-to-eat meats. "E.
coli O157 is present in the stomachs of cattle and sheep, but it is
killed when meat is cooked," he said. "However, in the past there
have been outbreaks caused by cross contamination, where the
infection passes from raw meat to ready cooked meats which are then
taken home and eaten."
Morrisons said in a statement that it was working closely with the
authorities but had as a precautionary measure withdrawn sliced cold
meat products from sale at the delicatessen counters of the 2 stores
in Paisley. No other stores or products are thought to be involved in
the investigation.
[Byline: Kate Devlin]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Cross contamination in the home or commercial kitchen remains an
important issue to be concerned with food hygiene. A 2007 ProMED-mail
posting (Salmonellosis, meat slicer - USA (GA): 2006 20070116.0208)
also linked a contaminated slicer to transmission of an enteric
pathogen as did this citation: Spitalny KC, Okowitz EN, Vogt RL:
Salmonellosis outbreak at a Vermont hospital. South Med J 1984; 77:
168-72.
A recent (August 2007) publication investigated the variables of
bacterial transfer from a contaminated slicing machine
(Perez-Rodriguez F, Valero A, Todd ECD, et al: Modeling transfer of
_Escherichia coli_ O157:H7 and _Staphylococcus aureus_ during slicing
of a cooked meat product. Meat Science 2007; 76: 692-9). Part of the
abstract follows:
"Cross contamination is one of the most important contributing
factors in foodborne illnesses originating in household environments.
The objective of this research was to determine the transfer
coefficients between a contaminated domestic slicing machine and a
cooked meat product, during slicing. The microorganisms tested were
_Staphylococcus aureus_ and _E. coli_ O157:H7. The results showed
that both microorganisms were able to transfer to all slices examined
(20 successively sliced) and at different inoculum levels on the
blade (108, 106 and 104 cfu (colony-forming units)/blade). The
results also showed that the number of log cfu transferred per slice,
during slicing, decreased logarithmically for both microorganisms at
inoculum levels of 8 and 6 log cfu/blade. The type of microorganism
significantly influenced transfer coefficients and there was an
interaction between inoculum level and transfer coefficient for _S.
aureus_, but not _E. coli_ O157:H7. Finally, to describe bacterial
transfer during slicing, 2 models (log-linear and Weibull) were
fitted to concentration on slice data for both microorganisms (at 6
and 8 log cfu/blade), obtaining a good fit to data."
Paisley is a large town in southwestern Scotland, located 8 miles
(about 13 km) from Glasgow. A map of Scotland can be found at
<http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Fountain/9051/uk2k/maps/map-scotland-lp.gif>.
- Mod.LL]
See Also
E. coli O157 - UK (Scotland) ex Turkey: alert 20070813.2644E. coli O157, prepackaged food - UK (England) (02) 20070722.2351
E. coli O157, prepackaged food - UK (England) 20070721.2348
E. coli VTEC non-O157, beef sausage - Denmark 20070602.1784
2006
----
E. coli O157 outbreaks - UK (England) 20061005.2849
E. coli O157, sorbitol fermenting - UK (Scotland, England) 20060601.1529
E. coli O157, sorbitol fermenting - UK (Scotland, England) 20060531.1519
E. coli O157, day care - UK (Scotland)(02): background 20060512.1356
E. coli O157, day care - UK (Scotland) 20060511.1346
2005
----
E. coli O157, preschoolers - Ireland (Midwest) 20051228.3698
E. coli O157, ground beef - France (02) 20051104.3229
E. coli O157, ground beef - France 20051031.3176
E. coli O157, schools - UK (Wales)(05) 20051007.2929
E. coli O157, schools - UK (Wales) 20050922.2799
E. coli O157, tourists - UK (Scotland) ex Turkey 20050818.2429
E. coli O157, water contamination - Switzerland (02): corr 20050805.2282
E. coli O157, water contamination - Switzerland (Black Forest) 20050804.2269
2003
----
E. coli, VTEC non-O157 - UK (Scotland):correction 20030828.2166
E. coli, VTEC non-O157 - UK (Scotland) 20030825.2144
E. coli O157 - UK (Scotland) 20030429.1051
2002
----
E. coli O157, family outbreak - UK (Scotland) 20021205.5969
E. coli O157, sorbitol fermenting - UK (Scotland) 20021101.5685
E. coli O157, campers - UK (Scotland) (02) 20020807.4985
E. coli O157, campers - UK (Scotland) 20020803.4926
1996
----
E. coli 0157:H7 - UK (Scotland) (06) 19961214.2073
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