scholarly journals Real-time application of automated ribotyping and DNA macrorestriction analysis in the setting of a listeriosis outbreak

2003 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 637-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. J. INGLIS ◽  
A. CLAIR ◽  
J. SAMPSON ◽  
L. O'REILLY ◽  
S. VANDENBERG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Health ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Food Samples ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Specimen Collection ◽  
Environmental Specimen ◽  
Initial Control ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Automated Ribotyping ◽  
Real Time Application

A cluster of three cases of listeriosis cases occurred against a background of endemic listeriosis in Western Australia. Human and environmental isolates of Listeria monocytogenes obtained during the outbreak investigation were rapidly subtyped by automated ribotyping using an EcoRI protocol and a RiboPrinter®. DNA macrorestriction analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to confirm the relatedness of isolates. Serogroup 1/2 predominated among the food samples and the four clinical isolates from the outbreak cluster were also of this serogroup. All isolates from chicken material were serogroup 1/2 and indistinguishable by ribotype pattern. PFGE subdivided strains of this ribotype into four subtypes. The preliminary analysis had an immediate impact on hypothesis generation, environmental health investigations, environmental specimen collection and initial control measures. Sufficient typing data to guide environmental health and disease control initiatives was generated in less than one week by combining automated ribotyping with PCR-based detection of L. monocytogenes in suspect foodstuffs and an L. monocytogenes DNA probe. There were no further cases of bacteriologically confirmed listeriosis in Western Australia for six months after completion of the investigation.

scholarly journals SToP (See, Treat, Prevent) skin sores and scabies trial: study protocol for a cluster randomised, stepped-wedge trial for skin disease control in remote Western Australia

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e030635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne J Mullane ◽  
Timothy C Barnett ◽  
Jeffrey W Cannon ◽  
Jonathan R Carapetis ◽  
Ray Christophers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Skin Disease ◽  
Aboriginal Health ◽  
Skin Infections ◽  
Stepped Wedge ◽  
Aboriginal Communities ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
Cluster Randomised

IntroductionSkin is important in Australian Aboriginal culture informing kinship and identity. In many remote Aboriginal communities, scabies and impetigo are very common. Untreated skin infections are painful, itchy and frequently go untreated due to under-recognition and lack of awareness of their potential serious complications. We hypothesise that the skin infection burden in remote Aboriginal communities can be reduced by implementing streamlined training and treatment pathways integrated with environmental health and health promotion activities, tested in the See, Treat, Prevent (SToP skin sores and scabies) trial.Methods and analysisSToP will evaluate a skin control programme using a stepped-wedge, cluster randomised trial design with three intervention components (the ‘SToP activities’): (1) seeing skin infections (development of training resources implemented within a community dermatology model); (2) treating skin infections (employing the latest evidence for impetigo, and scabies treatment); and (3) preventing skin infections (embedded, culturally informed health promotion and environmental health activities). Four community clusters in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia will participate. Following baseline data collection, two clusters will be randomly allocated to the SToP activities. At 12 months, the remaining two clusters will transition to the SToP activities. The primary outcome is the diagnosis of impetigo in children (5–9 years) at school-based surveillance. Secondary outcome measures include scabies diagnosis, other child health indicators, resistance to cotrimoxazole in circulating pathogenic bacteria, determining the economic burden of skin disease and evaluating the cost effectiveness of SToP activities.Ethics and disseminationThis study protocol was approved by the health ethics review committees at the Child and Adolescent Health Service (Approval number RGS0000000584), the Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee (Reference number: 819) and the University of Western Australia (Reference RA/4/20/4123). Study findings will be shared with community members, academic and medical communities via publications and presentations, and in reports to funders. Authorship for all publications based on this study will be determined in line with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Sharing results with organisations and communities who contributed to the study is paramount. The results of the SToP trial will be shared with participants in a suitable format, such as a single summary page provided to participants or presentations to communities, the Kimberly Aboriginal Health Planning Forum Research Subcommittee and other stakeholders as appropriate and as requested. Communication and dissemination will require ongoing consultation with Aboriginal communities to determine appropriate formats.Trial registration numberACTRN12618000520235.

scholarly journals An Examination of the Performance Based Building Code on the Design of a Commercial Building

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Greenwood
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Building Code ◽  
Commercial Building ◽  
Alternative Design ◽  
Alternative Designs ◽  
The Impact

The Building Code of Australia (BCA) is the principal code under which building approvals in Australia are assessed. The BCA adopted performance-based solutions for building approvals in 1996. Performance-based codes are based upon a set of explicit objectives, stated in terms of a hierarchy of requirements beginning with key general objectives. With this in mind, the research presented in this paper aims to analyse the impact of the introduction of the performance-based code within Western Australia to gauge the effect and usefulness of alternative design solutions in commercial construction using a case study project. The research revealed that there are several advantages to the use of alternative designs and that all parties, in general, are in favour of the performance-based building code of Australia. It is suggested that change in the assessment process to streamline the alternative design path is needed for the greater use of the performance-based alternative. With appropriate quality control measures, minor variations to the deemed-to-satisfy provisions could easily be managed by the current and future building surveying profession.

An Outbreak of Salmonella Chester Infection in Canada: Rare Serotype, Uncommon Exposure, and Unusual Population Demographic Facilitate Rapid Identification of Food Vehicle

2012 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 738-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN TAYLOR ◽  
ELENI GALANIS ◽  
LYNN WILCOTT ◽  
LINDA HOANG ◽  
JASON STONE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Identification ◽  
Food Samples ◽  
Grocery Store ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Source Control ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Patient Interviews ◽  
Microbiological Testing ◽  
Canadian Provinces ◽  
Population Demographic

Salmonella Chester infection has rarely been reported in the literature. In 2010, 33 case patients were reported in 2 months in four Canadian provinces. We conducted an outbreak investigation in collaboration with public health agencies, food safety specialists, regulatory agencies, grocery store chains, and the product distributor. We used case patient interviews, customer loyalty cards, and microbiological testing of clinical and food samples to identify nationally distributed head cheese as the food vehicle responsible for the outbreak. The rare serotype, a limited affected demographic group, and an uncommon exposure led to the rapid identification of the source. Control measures were implemented within 9 days of notification of the outbreak.

scholarly journals An outbreak ofSalmonella dublininfection in England and Wales associated with a soft unpasteurized cows' milk cheese

1992 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Maguire ◽  
J. Cowden ◽  
M. Jacob ◽  
B. Rowe ◽  
D. Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control Measures ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Salmonella Dublin ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Initial Control ◽  
South East England ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Hazard Warning ◽  
Control Study

SUMMARYAn outbreak ofSalmonella dublininfection occurred in England and Wales in October to December 1989. Forty-two people were affected, mainly adults, and most lived in south-east England. Microbiological and epidemiological investigations implicated an imported Irish soft unpasteurized cows' milk cheese as the vehicle of infection. A case-control study showed a statistically significant association between infection and consumption of the suspect cheese (p = 0·001).Salmonella dublinwas subsequently isolated from cheeses obtained from the manufacturer's premises. Initial control measures included the withdrawal of the cheese from retail sale and a Food Hazard Warning to Environmental Health Departments, as well as a press release, from the Department of Health. Subsequently, a decision was taken by the manufacturer to pasteurize milk used in the production of cheese for the UK market and importation of the cheese resumed in June 1990.

A cross-sectional survey of environmental health in remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 525-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Melody ◽  
E. Bennett ◽  
H. D. Clifford ◽  
F. H. Johnston ◽  
C. C. J. Shepherd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Health ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Aboriginal Communities

scholarly journals Mycotoxigenic fungi contamination of grains and peanuts from open markets in Kelantan, Malaysia

Food Research ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-77
Author(s):  
B. Salisu ◽  
S.M. Anua ◽  
W.R. Wan Ishak ◽  
N. Mazlan
Keyword(s):  
Food Samples ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Neoscytalidium Dimidiatum ◽  
Stringent Control ◽  
Food Grains ◽  
Fungal Identification ◽  
Warm Weather ◽  
Mycotoxigenic Fungi ◽  
Open Markets

The warm weather and high relative humidity in Malaysia are ideal for the survival and proliferation of mycotoxigenic fungi leading to a high rate of stored product contamination. This study was conducted to enumerate and characterise the mycotoxigenic fungi associated with commonly consumed food grains in Kelantan, Malaysia. The fungal bioburden and fungal identification from forty-four composite food samples comprising 11 samples each of maize, wheat, rice, and peanuts from open markets in Kelantan, Malaysia, were determined using standard mycological techniques. A total of 115 mould fungal isolates belonging to 12 species were isolated, of which Aspergillus flavus (17.39%), A. versicolor (13.04%), A. felis (12.17%), Neoscytalidium dimidiatum (11.3%), Penicillium cheresanum (11.3%) and P. chrysogenum (8.7%), were predominant. Peanuts were the most contaminated (9.7×105 ± 1.5×105 CFU/g) followed by maize (7.5×105 ± 1.8×106 CFU/g), wheat (1.9×105 ± 2.6×105 CFU/g), and rice (9.9×104 ± 1.5×105 CFU/g). The levels of the mycotoxigenic fungi in peanut, maize, and wheat were above the permissible limit of 102 CFU/g set by the Malaysian Ministry of Health and 102 to 105 CFU/g set by the International Commission for Microbiological Specification for Foods, signifying that they are unsafe for use as food or feed ingredients. Hence, there is a need for more stringent control measures.

scholarly journals An Easter outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium DT 104A associated with traditional pork salami in Italy

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 11-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Luzzi ◽  
P Galetta ◽  
M Massari ◽  
Caterina Rizzo ◽  
A M Dionisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phage Type ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Food Samples ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Pork Products ◽  
Source Of Infection ◽  
Good Manufacturing Practices ◽  
Neighbouring Region ◽  
Potential Risk Factors ◽  
Matched Case

Salmonella enterica is a common cause of gastrointestinal illness in Italy. S. Typhimurium accounts for approximately 40% of isolates, and most of these strains belong to the phage type DT104. We describe the investigation of an outbreak of S. Typhimurium DT104A, a subtype never observed before in Italy, which occurred in Rome during spring 2004. We conducted a matched case control study between 24 July and 9 September 2004. Controls were matched for age and area of residence. Each case had between one and four controls. Odds of exposure to potential risk factors and vehicles for the outbreak were compared between cases and controls. A multivariate analysis was conducted to estimate adjusted Odds Ratios. Sixty-three cases of S. Typhimurium DT 104A infection with onset between 1 April and 5 May 2004 were identified. Sixty-one were residents of Rome and two were residents of a neighbouring region. Twenty-six cases (43%) were enrolled in the study. Their median age was 7.5 years. Fourteen of 26 cases and 16 of 62 controls had eaten pork salami (OR= 25.5; 95% CI 1.6- 416.8). No food samples were available for testing. In northern Italy, two months prior to the outbreak, the veterinary surveillance system identified the first isolation of S. Typhimurium DT104A in a pig isolate. Both human and pig isolates showed indistinguishable PFGE patterns. It was not possible to trace the pig after the sample was taken at slaughter. The epidemiological evidence on the implication of pork salami in this outbreak suggests that pork products can also be a vehicle for salmonella in Italy and underlines the importance of good manufacturing practices for ready-to-eat foods. This investigation highlights the value of laboratory-based surveillance in identifying community-wide outbreaks of uncommon pathogens. It also underlines the need to improve surveillance timeliness, for promptly detecting outbreaks, undergoing field investigation, and implementing control measures. Moreover, our study shows the usefulness of integrated human and animal surveillance in tracing the possible source of infection.

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