Please note the additional witnesses.
WASHINGTON, DC — The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing entitled “The Outbreak of Salmonella in Eggs” on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, at 12:00 noon in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing will examine the recent Salmonella outbreak associated with eggs produced by
What follows are just three of the personal stories associated with non-O157 STEC outbreaks. These stories are presented to give a small insight into the significant harm that results when the STEC already present in the national food supply causes illness.
Shiloh Johnson, E. coli O111, 2008
Shiloh Johnson was one of hundreds of persons sickened in the August 2008 E. coli O111 outbreak at the Country Cottage restaurant in Locust Grove, Oklahoma. Shiloh developed bloody diarrhea, and was hospitalized on August 22, 2008.
Once admitted, Shiloh’s stool sample was tested and subsequently cultured positive for E. coli O111. Immediately after the start of the hospitalization, she began to suffer from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Her kidneys failed and her red blood cell and platelet counts plummeted. With a complete loss of kidney function, she required dialysis to survive. She was placed on continuous renal replacement therapy.
Forty-eight hours into the dialysis treatment, disaster struck. Shiloh developed a significant pericardial effusion (fluid around the heart) with tamponade (stoppage of blood flow caused by fluid). She went into cardiorespiratory arrest. She was endotrachoeally intubated and the pericardial fluid was drained. She was given a round of epinephrine, and the arrest was reversed. Shiloh remained on a ventilator through September 12. Soon, the area around her lungs also became inundated with fluid, necessitating the placement of chest tubes.
Throughout this time, Shiloh experienced full renal failure. She received dialysis treatment around the clock. On September 10, her doctors placed a periotoneal catheter and switched her to peritoneal dialysis. The dialysis continued through September 27. She was finally discharged on October 3. By this point, her medical bills amounted to $450,000.
The severity of Shiloh Johnson’s HUS, and in particular the length of her renal failure, puts her at serious risk of future complications including end stage renal disease. The extent of her long-term injury is still being assessed.
Two more stories:Continue Reading The real reason that FSIS needs to re-think what is an “Adulterant” – the suffering caused by non-O157 E. coli Infections
In July 2010, CDC identified a nationwide sustained increase in the number of Salmonella Enteritidis isolates with PFGE pattern JEGX01.0004 uploaded to PulseNet, the national subtyping network made up of state and local public health laboratories and federal food regulatory laboratories that performs molecular surveillance of foodborne infections. This increase
On Wednesday, September 22, 2010, at 12:00 p.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing entitled, “The Outbreak of Salmonella in Eggs.” This hearing will examine the recent Salmonella outbreak associated with shell eggs produced by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa.
The hearing continues the Subcommittee’s investigative activities concerning the adequacy of efforts to ensure the safety and security of the nation’s food supply. In the 110th Congress, the Subcommittee held nine hearings regarding food safety issues, including an E. coli outbreak traced to tainted spinach, melamine-contaminated pet food, and intentional exposure of meat and seafood to carbon monoxide. In this Congress, the Subcommittee has held hearings on a Salmonella outbreak associated with peanut products manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America, the actions and obligations of food manufacturers and retailers that purchase tainted food products, the safety of bottled water, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s management of international food imports and inspections of domestic food facilities.
WITNESSES
The following witnesses have (thus far) been invited to testify:
Mr. Austin DeCoster Owner Wright County Egg
Ms. Orland Bethel President Hillandale Farms of Iowa
Mr. Michael R. Taylor Deputy Commissioner for Foods U.S. Food and Drug Administration
I. BACKGROUNDContinue Reading House Energy and Commerce Committee “The Outbreak of Salmonella in Eggs”
I am on a plane (Wi-Fi) heading to Washington D.C. for the Salmonella Egg Hearing via Wichita for an E. coli O157:H7 Mediation. If the mediation is short (that can be good or bad), I’ll make it to D.C., if not, I hear Wichita is nice in September.
The mediation involves a young woman who was part of a nation-wide E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in 2009. She was hospitalized for days, incurring nearly $35,000 in medical expenses. Although she did not develop Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, she has been left with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). For anyone this can be a devastating result, for a teenage girl even more so.
A recently-published study surveyed the extant scientific literature and noted that post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) is a common clinical phenomenon first-described over five decades ago. The Walkerton Health Study further notes that:
Between 5% and 30% of patients who suffer an acute episode of infectious gastroenteritis develop chronic gastrointestinal symptoms despite clearance of the inciting pathogens.
In terms of its own data, the “study confirm[ed] a strong and significant relationship between acute enteric infection and subsequent IBS symptoms.” The WHS also identified risk-factors for subsequent IBS, including: younger age; female sex; and four features of the acute enteric illness—diarrhea for >7 days, presence of blood in stools, abdominal cramps, and weight loss of at least ten pounds.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic disorder characterized by alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea, both of which are generally accompanied by abdominal cramping and pain. In one recent study, over one-third of IBS sufferers had had IBS for more than ten years, with their symptoms remaining fairly constant over time. IBS sufferers typically experienced symptoms for an average of 8.1 days per month.
As would be expected from a chronic disorder with symptoms of such persistence, IBS sufferers required more time off work, spent more days in bed, and more often cut down on usual activities, when compared with non-IBS sufferers. And even when able to work, a significant majority (67%), felt less productive at work because of their symptoms. IBS symptoms also have a significantly deleterious impact on social well-being and daily social activities, such as undertaking a long drive, going to a restaurant, or taking a vacation. Finally, although a patient’s psychological state may influence the way in which he or she copes with illness and responds to treatment, there is no evidence that supports the theory that psychological disturbances in fact cause IBS or its symptoms.
References:Continue Reading E. coli O157:H7 Mediated Post-Infectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
In all the heat that has been generated against House Bill 2749 and Senate Bill 510, two sections (Sec., 121 in HB 2749 and Sec., 205 in SB 510), are the babies that have been thrown out with the bathwater. If passed these sections have the greatest opportunity to fundamentally change how food is produced in the United States. Here is the reality, most outbreaks are figured out AFTER the outbreak is over (or nearly so), and most recalls are generated by ill consumers (a.k.a., canaries with grocery carts).
Read those sections for yourself. However, here is my take on them:
Both Bills opening provisions are essentially the same except the Senate version excludes in Section (E) (House version (b) (5)), “including working toward automatic electronic searches” and “in order to identify new or rarely documented causes of feed-borne illness and submit standardized information to a centralized database.” The remaining provisions of the opening provisions are identical. The Secretary of HHS (remember these bills ONLY relate to FDA and the products it oversees) “acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall enhance food-borne illness surveillance systems to improve the collection, analysis, reporting and usefulness of data on food-borne illnesses…”
So, how do Sec., 121 in HB 2749 and Sec., 205 in SB 510 accomplish that?Continue Reading Lets give the CDC and State Health Departments the tools to stop outbreaks faster
Even the folks who fought against S. 510, have to admit that the FDA does not have the resources to inspect domestic food production less alone imports for pathogens that can kill you.
Perhaps Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), has an idea. He has introduced to bills, S. 3767 (Food Safety Accountability Act) and S. 3669 (Food Safety Enforcement Act of 2010). S. 3767 would amend Title 18 of the U.S. Code (Chapter 47 – Fraud and False Statements) to add a new section – § 1041 Misbranded and adulterated food – making it unlawful for any person to knowingly: “(1) introduce or deliver for introduction into interstate commerce any food that is adulterated or misbranded; or (2) adulterate or misbrand any food in interstate commerce.” A violation of proposed § 1041 would carry with it a fine and/or imprisonment for not more than 10 years. S. 3669 would amend the FDC Act to impose the same criminal penalties for persons who knowingly contaminate the food supply.
Wait a minute, we have not even prosecuted Stewart Parnell and he killed 9 and sickened 700 in a Salmonella Outbreak in 2009.
Full texts of Acts below:Continue Reading If we are not going to inspect people who poison us, let’s just throw them in jail
Everyone has become a bit bothered by the Salmonella Outbreak that has sickened over 1,500 people and caused the recall of 550,000,000 eggs. In the next few weeks, I will be visiting the Iowa factory that produced these fine eggs – some several million chickens. But, is my chicken experiment in our backyard a sustainable
I grew up on a small farm, and we had chickens, so I know where eggs generally come from. I must admit, however, seeing how eggs are manufactured on a massive scale is something I have never seen. It looks to be an interesting and eye-opening experience. I am glad to have a Court Order
Dave Their, an AOL contributor, caught me in the middle of helping my oldest daughter move into her freshman dorm late yesterday afternoon as it was becoming clearer that S. 510 – the Food Safety Modernization Act – was taking its last few gulps of air. You have to give it to politicians – republicans
