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Today — 31 October 2024Main stream

Slivered onions are likely cause of McDonald’s E. coli outbreak, CDC says

By: Beth Mole
30 October 2024 at 21:40

Slivered onions are the likely source of the multi-state E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounder burgers that continues to grow, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday.

Onions were one of two primary suspects when the CDC announced the outbreak on October 22, with the other being the beef patties used on the burgers. But onions quickly became the leading suspect. The day after the CDC's announcement, McDonald's onion supplier, Taylor Farms, recalled peeled and diced yellow onion products, and several other fast food chains took onions off the menu as a precaution. (No other restaurants have been linked to the outbreak to date.)

According to the CDC, traceback information and epidemiological data collected since then have all pointed to the onions, and, according to McDonald's, state and federal testing of the beef patties has all come back negative.

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© Getty | Scott Olson

Before yesterdayMain stream

Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King pull onions amid McDonald’s outbreak

By: Beth Mole
24 October 2024 at 21:21

Big-name fast food chains, including Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Burger King, are reportedly pulling onions off their menus in certain locations amid a deadly, multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders.

Though the source of the outbreak bacteria has not been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading suspects are the beef patties and the sliced onions used on the popular burger.

On Wednesday, McDonald's onion supplier Taylor Farms recalled peeled and diced yellow onion products, according to a notice from US Foods, a supplier of food service operations.

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© Getty | Eric Broder Van Dyke

Bird flu hit a dead end in Missouri, but it’s running rampant in California

By: Beth Mole
24 October 2024 at 19:23

As H5N1 bird flu continues to spread wildly among California dairy herds and farmworkers, federal health officials on Thursday offered some relatively good news about Missouri: The wily avian influenza virus does not appear to have spread from the state's sole human case, which otherwise remains a mystery.

On September 6, the Missouri Health department announced that a person with underlying health conditions tested positive for bird flu, and later testing indicated that it was an H5N1 strain related to the one currently circulating among US dairy cows. But, state and federal health officials were—and still are—stumped as to how that person became infected. The person had no known contact with infected animals and no contact with any obviously suspect animal products. No dairy herds in Missouri have tested positive, and no poultry farms had reported recent outbreaks, either. To date, all other human cases of H5N1 have been among farmworkers who had contact with H5N1-infected animals.

But aside from the puzzle, attention turned to the possibility that the unexplained Missouri case had passed on the infection to those around them. A household contact had symptoms at the same time as the person—aka the index case—and at least six health care workers developed illnesses after interacting with the person. One of the six had tested negative for bird flu around the time of their illness, but questions remained about the other five.

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© Getty | Matthew Ludak

McDonald’s deadly Quarter Pounder E. coli outbreak is likely bigger than we know

By: Beth Mole
23 October 2024 at 15:33

One person is dead and 48 others across 10 states have been sickened in an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that appears to be linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders and the slivered onions used on the burgers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

McDonald's has paused distribution of the slivered onions and removed Quarter Pounders from the menus of restaurants in areas known to be affected. As of now, those areas include Colorado, Kansas, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

However, the CDC was quick to note that the size and span of the outbreak are likely larger than is currently known. "This outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses, and the true number of sick people is likely much higher than the number reported," the agency said in its outbreak notice posted Tuesday afternoon.

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© Getty | Scott Olson

US vaccinations fall again as more parents refuse lifesaving shots for kids

By: Beth Mole
17 October 2024 at 20:40

Measles, whooping cough, polio, tetanus—devastating and sometimes deadly diseases await comebacks in the US as more and more parents are declining routine childhood vaccines that have proved safe and effective.

The vaccination rates among kindergartners have fallen once again, dipping into the range of 92 percent in the 2023–2024 school year, down from about 93 percent the previous school year and 95 percent in 2019–2020. That's according to an analysis of the latest vaccination data published today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The analysis also found that vaccination exemptions rose to an all-time high of 3.3 percent, up from 3 percent in the previous school year. The rise in exemptions is nearly entirely driven by non-medical exemptions—in other words, religious or philosophical exemptions. Only 0.2 percent of all vaccination exemptions are medically justified.

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Rare bear meat at gathering gives 10 people a scare—and parasitic worms

By: Beth Mole
11 October 2024 at 15:43

If you're going to eat a bear, make sure it's not rare.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that once the beast has been subdued, all danger has passed. But you might still be in for a scare. The animal's flesh can be riddled with encased worm larvae, which, upon being eaten, will gladly reproduce in your innards and let their offspring roam the rest of your person, including invading your brain and heart. To defeat these savage squirmers, all one must do is cook the meat to at least 165° Fahrenheit.

But that simple solution continues to be ignored, according to a report today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. In this week's issue, health officials in North Carolina report that rare bear meat was served at a November 23 gathering, where at least 22 people ate the meat and at least 10 developed symptoms of a worm infection. Of the 10, six were kids and teens between the ages of 10 and 18.

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Human cases of H5N1 confirmed in California amid rapid dairy spread

By: Beth Mole
3 October 2024 at 21:41

Two California dairy farm workers who had contact with H5N1-infected cows have contracted an H5 avian influenza virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Thursday evening.

In a news release from earlier today, California's health department announced only one presumptive positive case awaiting confirmation from the CDC. In that case, the person's illness was reported to be mild, with the only symptom being conjunctivitis (eye redness). This echoes the experience of other H5N1 human cases in this outbreak. The person is said to be staying at home and taking an antiviral flu medication.

In its media statement Thursday evening, the CDC reported confirming two cases. "At this time, there is no known link or contact between the first and second confirmed cases in California, suggesting these are separate instances of animal-to-human spread of the virus," the CDC said.

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© Getty | Peter Cade

Human cases of H5N1 confirmed in California amid rapid dairy spread

By: Beth Mole
3 October 2024 at 21:41

Two California dairy farm workers who had contact with H5N1-infected cows have contracted an H5 avian influenza virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Thursday evening.

In a news release from earlier today, California's health department announced only one presumptive positive case awaiting confirmation from the CDC. In that case, the person's illness was reported to be mild, with the only symptom being conjunctivitis (eye redness). This echoes the experience of other H5N1 human cases in this outbreak. The person is said to be staying at home and taking an antiviral flu medication.

In its media statement Thursday evening, the CDC reported confirming two cases. "At this time, there is no known link or contact between the first and second confirmed cases in California, suggesting these are separate instances of animal-to-human spread of the virus," the CDC said.

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More unidentified illnesses linked to unexplained bird flu case in Missouri

By: Beth Mole
27 September 2024 at 20:15

More than a month after a person in Missouri mysteriously fell ill with H5-type bird flu, investigators in the state are still identifying people who became ill after contact with the patient, raising questions about the diligence of the ongoing health investigation.

On September 6, Missouri's health department reported the state's first human case of H5-type bird flu, one that appears closely related to the H5N1 bird flu currently causing a nationwide outbreak among dairy cows. But the infected person had no known contact with infected animals—unlike all of the other 13 human cases identified amid the dairy outbreak this year. Those previous cases have all occurred in dairy- or poultry-farm workers. In fact, Missouri has not reported bird flu in its dairy herds nor recent poultry outbreaks.

Given the unexplained source of infection, health investigators in the state have been working to track the virus both backward in time—to try to identify the source—and forward—to identify any potential onward spread. The bird flu patient was initially hospitalized on August 22 but recovered and had been released by the time the state publicly reported the case.

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© [CDATA[Getty | Jason Alden]]

Spread of deadly EEE virus explodes 5-fold in New York; one death reported

By: Beth Mole
25 September 2024 at 21:53
An entomologist for the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness in a swampland area on August 25, 2021, in Louisville, Kentucky, collecting various mosquito species and testing the samples for mosquito-borne diseases, such as EEE.

Enlarge / An entomologist for the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness in a swampland area on August 25, 2021, in Louisville, Kentucky, collecting various mosquito species and testing the samples for mosquito-borne diseases, such as EEE. (credit: Getty |)

New York is facing an unusual boom in mosquitoes toting the deadly eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus, which has already led to one rare death in the state and a declaration of an "imminent threat" by officials.

While the state's surveillance system typically picks up EEE-positive mosquitoes in two or three counties each year, this year there have been 15 affected counties, which are scattered all across New York, State Health Commissioner James McDonald said this week.

"Eastern equine encephalitis is different this year," McDonald said, noting the deadly nature of the infection, which has a mortality rate of between 30 and 50 percent. "Mosquitoes, once a nuisance, are now a threat," McDonald added. "I urge all New Yorkers to prevent mosquito bites by using insect repellents, wearing long-sleeved clothing, and removing free-standing water near their homes. Fall is officially here, but mosquitoes will be around until we see multiple nights of below-freezing temperatures."

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Bird flu is spreading rapidly in California; infected herds double over weekend

By: Beth Mole
23 September 2024 at 22:43
Bird flu is spreading rapidly in California; infected herds double over weekend

Enlarge (credit: Getty | Matthew Ludak)

The H5N1 bird flu appears to be stampeding through dairy farms in California, the country's largest milk producer. Over the weekend, the total number of confirmed infected cow herds stunningly doubled, going from 17 last Thursday to 34 Monday morning, according to state and federal officials.

With the new tally, California now ranks second among all affected states for having the most herds with avian influenza. Only Colorado, which has adopted bulk milk-tank surveillance, has more, with 64 herds confirmed. California's high ranking is despite the fact that it only reported its first three infected herds on August 30, while the dairy outbreak was first confirmed on March 25 and thought to have begun late last year.

To date, 232 herds in 14 states have been infected with the bird flu.

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Boar’s Head will never make liverwurst again after outbreak that killed 9

By: Beth Mole
16 September 2024 at 21:44
A recall notice is posted next to Boar's Head meats that are displayed at a Safeway store on July 31, 2024, in San Rafael, California.

Enlarge / A recall notice is posted next to Boar's Head meats that are displayed at a Safeway store on July 31, 2024, in San Rafael, California. (credit: Getty | Justin Sullivan)

The Boar's Head deli-meat plant at the epicenter of a nationwide Listeria outbreak that killed nine people so far harbored the deadly germ in a common area of the facility deemed "low risk" for Listeria. Further, it had no written plans to prevent cross-contamination of the dangerous bacteria to other products and areas. That's according to a federal document newly released by Boar's Head.

On Friday, the company announced that it is indefinitely closing that Jarratt, Virginia-based plant and will never again produce liverwurst—the product that Maryland health investigators first identified as the source of the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes. The finding led to the recall of more than 7 million pounds of Boar's Head meat. The Jarratt plant, where the company's liverwurst is made, has been shuttered since late July amid the investigation into how the outbreak occurred.

In the September 13 update, Boar's Head explained that "our investigation has identified the root cause of the contamination as a specific production process that only existed at the Jarratt facility and was used only for liverwurst. With this discovery, we have decided to permanently discontinue liverwurst."

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Person in Missouri caught H5 bird flu without animal contact

By: Beth Mole
6 September 2024 at 23:02
The influenza virus from an image produced with transmission electron microscopy. Viral diameter ranges from around 80 to 120 nm.

Enlarge / The influenza virus from an image produced with transmission electron microscopy. Viral diameter ranges from around 80 to 120 nm. (credit: Getty | BSIP)

A person in Missouri with no reported exposure to animals was confirmed to have been infected with H5-type bird flu, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MDHSS) announced late Friday.

MDHSS reported that the person, who has underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized on August 22 and tested positive for an influenza A virus. Further testing at the state's public health laboratory indicated that the influenza A virus was an H5-type bird flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now confirmed that finding and is carrying out further testing to determine if it is the H5N1 strain currently causing a widespread outbreak among US dairy cows.

It remains unclear if the person's bird flu infection was the cause of the hospitalization or if the infection was discovered incidentally. The person has since recovered and was discharged from the hospital. In its announcement, MDHSS said no other information about the patient will be released to protect the person's privacy.

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Record measles outbreak in Oregon blamed on vaccine exemptions

By: Beth Mole
4 September 2024 at 19:10
A US child infected with measles during a 2024 outbreak. The child’s cheek shows the characteristic rash associated with this viral infection.

Enlarge / A US child infected with measles during a 2024 outbreak. The child’s cheek shows the characteristic rash associated with this viral infection. (credit: CDC)

With one of the highest vaccine exemption rates in the country, Oregon is experiencing its largest measles outbreak in decades. This year's count is now higher than anything seen since 2000, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the highly contagious virus eliminated from the US.

Since the start of the year, Oregon has tallied 31 cases of measles, all in unvaccinated people. The cases have been accumulating in sustained waves of transmission since mid-June.

Last month, when the outbreak tally was still in the 20s, health officials noted that it was nearing a state record set in 2019. There were 28 cases that year, which were linked to a large outbreak across the border in Washington state. But, with that record now surpassed, the state is in pre-elimination territory.

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Bird flu reaches cows in California, the country’s largest milk producer

By: Beth Mole
3 September 2024 at 22:12
A cow grazes in a field at a dairy farm on April 26, 2024, in Petaluma, California.

Enlarge / A cow grazes in a field at a dairy farm on April 26, 2024, in Petaluma, California. (credit: Getty | Justin Sullivan)

The outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in US dairy cows has now spread to three herds in California, the largest milk-producing state in the country, with around 1.7 million dairy cows, federal and state health officials have confirmed.

Fourteen states and 197 herds have now been affected by the unprecedented outbreak in dairy cows, which was first confirmed by federal health officials on March 25.

In a statement, the secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Karen Ross, said the spread of the virus to California was not unexpected. "We have been preparing for this possibility since earlier this year when [Highly pathogenic avian influenza or HPAI] detections were confirmed at dairy farms in other states," Ross said. "Our extensive experience with HPAI in poultry has given us ample preparation and expertise to address this incident, with workers’ health and public health as our top priorities."

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Massive nationwide meat-linked outbreak kills 5 more, now largest since 2011

By: Beth Mole
28 August 2024 at 20:50
<em>Listeria monocytogenes</em>.

Enlarge / Listeria monocytogenes. (credit: Getty | BSIP)

Five more people have died in a nationwide outbreak of Listeria infections linked to contaminated Boar's Head brand meats, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday.

To date, 57 people across 18 states have been sickened, all of whom required hospitalization. A total of eight have died. The latest tally makes this the largest listeriosis outbreak in the US since 2011, when cantaloupe processed in an unsanitary facility led to 147 Listeria infections in 28 states, causing 33 deaths, the CDC notes.

The new cases and deaths come after a massive recall of more than 7 million pounds of Boar's Head meat products, which encompassed 71 of the company's products. That recall was announced on July 30, which itself was an expansion of a July 26 recall of an additional 207,528 pounds of Boar's Head products. By August 8, when the CDC last provided an update on the outbreak, the number of cases had hit 43, with 43 hospitalizations and three deaths.

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COVID shot now or later? Just getting it at all is great, officials respond.

By: Beth Mole
23 August 2024 at 20:59
A 13-year-old celebrates getting the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Hartford, Connecticut, on May 13, 2021.

Enlarge / A 13-year-old celebrates getting the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Hartford, Connecticut, on May 13, 2021. (credit: Getty | JOSEPH PREZIOSO )

With the impending arrival of the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccines approved yesterday, some Americans are now gaming out when to get their dose—right away while the summer wave is peaking, a bit later in the fall to maximize protection for the coming winter wave, or maybe a few weeks before a big family event at the end of the year? Of course, the group pondering such a question is just a small portion of the US.

Only 22.5 percent of adults and 14 percent of children in the country are estimated to have gotten the 2023–2024 vaccine. By contrast, 48.5 percent of adults and 54 percent of children were estimated to have gotten a flu shot. The stark difference is despite the fact that COVID-19 is deadlier than the flu, and the SARS-CoV-2 virus is evolving faster than seasonal influenza viruses.

In a press briefing Friday, federal health officials were quick to redirect focus when reporters raised questions about the timing of COVID-19 vaccination in the coming months and the possibility of updating the vaccines twice a year, instead of just once, to keep up with an evolving virus that has been producing both summer and winter waves.

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Town urges curfew over mosquito-spread disease that kills up to 50% of people

By: Beth Mole
22 August 2024 at 17:09
A mosquito collected to test for mosquito-borne diseases.

Enlarge / A mosquito collected to test for mosquito-borne diseases. (credit: Getty | Jon Cherry)

A small town in Massachusetts is urging residents to stay indoors in the evenings after the spread of a dangerous mosquito-spread virus reached "critical risk level."

The virus causes Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), which kills between 30 and 50 percent of people who are stricken—who are often children under the age of 15 and the elderly. Around half who survive are left permanently disabled, and some die within a few years due to complications. There is no treatment for EEE. So far, one person in the town—an elderly resident of Oxford—has already become seriously ill with neuroinvasive EEE.

EEE virus is spread by mosquitoes in certain swampy areas of the country, particularly in Atlantic and Gulf Coast states and the Great Lakes region. Mosquitoes shuttle the virus between wild birds and animals, including horses and humans. In humans, the virus causes very few cases in the US each year—an average of 11, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But given the extreme risk of EEE, health officials take any spread seriously.

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This year’s summer COVID wave is big; FDA may green-light COVID shots early

By: Beth Mole
19 August 2024 at 23:53
This year’s summer COVID wave is big; FDA may green-light COVID shots early

Enlarge (credit: Getty | Thomas Trutschel)

With the country experiencing a relatively large summer wave of COVID-19, the Food and Drug Administration is considering signing off on this year's strain-matched COVID-19 vaccines as soon as this week, according to a report by CNN that cited unnamed officials familiar with the matter.

Last year, the FDA gave the green light for the 2023–2024 COVID shots on September 11, close to the peak of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in that year's summer wave. This year, the summer wave began earlier and, by some metrics, is peaking at much higher levels than in previous years.

Currently, wastewater detection of SARS-CoV-2 shows "very high" virus levels in 32 states and the District of Columbia. An additional 11 states are listed as having "high" levels. Looking at trends, the southern and western regions of the country are currently reporting SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater that rival the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 winter waves, which both peaked at the very end of December.

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