scholarly journals Cheese-related listeriosis outbreak, Portugal, March 2009 to February 2012

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Magalhães ◽  
G Almeida ◽  
V Ferreira ◽  
I Santos ◽  
J Silva ◽  
...  

In Portugal, listeriosis has been notifiable since April 2014, but there is no active surveillance programme for the disease. A retrospective study involving 25 national hospitals led to the detection of an outbreak that occurred between March 2009 and February 2012. The amount of time between the start of the outbreak and its detection was 16 months. Of the 30 cases of listeriosis reported, 27 were in the Lisbon and Vale do Tejo region. Two cases were maternal/neonatal infections and one resulted in fetal loss. The mean age of the non-maternal/neonatal cases was 59 years (standard deviation: 17); 13 cases were more than 65 years-old. The case fatality rate was 36.7%. All cases were caused by molecular serogroup IVb isolates indistinguishable by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and ribotype profiles. Collaborative investigations with the national health and food safety authorities identified cheese as the probable source of infection, traced to a processing plant. The magnitude of this outbreak, the first reported food-borne listeriosis outbreak in Portugal, highlights the importance of having an effective listeriosis surveillance system in place for early detection and resolution of outbreaks, as well as the need for a process for the prompt submission of Listeria monocytogenes isolates for routine laboratory typing.

Author(s):  
Binghuai Lu ◽  
Junwen Yang ◽  
Chunyan Gao ◽  
Dong Li ◽  
Yanchao Cui ◽  
...  

Listeriosis, caused by Listeria monocytogenes, is a severe food-borne infection. The nationwide surveillance in China concerning listeriosis is urgently needed. In the present study, 144 L. monocytogenes isolates were collected from the samples of blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and fetal membrane/placenta in China for 12 years from 2008 to 2019. We summarized these listeriosis patients’ demographical and clinical features and outcomes. The susceptibility profile for 12 antibiotics was also determined by the broth microdilution method. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and serogroups of these listeria isolates were analyzed to designate epidemiological types. We enrolled 144 cases from 29 healthcare centers, including 96 maternal-neonatal infections, 33 cases of bacteremia, 13 cases of neurolisteriosis, and two cutaneous listeriosis. There were 31 (59.6%) fetal loss in 52 pregnant women and four (9.8%) neonatal death in 41 newborns. Among the 48 nonmaternal-neonatal cases, 12.5% (6/48) died, 41.7% (20/48) were female, and 64.6% (31/48) occurred in those with significant comorbidities. By MLST, the strains were distinguished into 23 individual sequence types (STs). The most prevalent ST was ST87 (49 isolates, 34.0%), followed by ST1 (18, 12.5%), ST8 (10, 6.9%), ST619 (9, 6.3%), ST7 (7, 4.9%) and ST3 (7, 4.9%). Furthermore, all L. monocytogenes isolates were uniformly susceptible to penicillin, ampicillin, and meropenem. In summary, our study highlights a high genotypic diversity of L. monocytogenes strains causing clinical listeriosis in China. Furthermore, a high prevalence of ST87 and ST1 in the listeriosis should be noted.


1993 ◽  
Vol 70 (02) ◽  
pp. 266-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giancarlo Agnelli ◽  
Benilde Cosmi ◽  
Stefano Radicchia ◽  
Franca Veschi ◽  
Enrico Boschetti ◽  
...  

SummaryImpedance plethysmography (IPG) has high sensitivity and specificity in patients with symptomatic deep vein thrombosis (DVT) while it fails to detect asymptomatic DVT. The aim of this study was to determine whether the features of thrombi such as location, size and occlusiveness could explain the different accuracy of IPG in symptomatic and asymptomatic DVT patients. One-hundred and seventeen consecutive outpatients with a clinical suspicion of DVT and 246 consecutive patients undergoing hip surgery were admitted to the study. In symptomatic patients IPG was performed on the day of referral, followed by venography, while in asymptomatic patients IPG was performed as a surveillance programme, followed by bilateral venography.A venography proved DVT was observed in 37% of the symptomatic patients and 34% of the asymptomatic limbs. A significantly higher proportion of proximal DVTs was found in symptomatic patients than in asymptomatic patients (78% vs 46%; p = 0.001). The mean Marder score, taken as an index of thrombus size, was significantly higher in symptomatic patients than in asymptomatic patients (19.0 vs 9.6; p = 0.0001). A significantly higher proportion of occlusive DVTs was observed in symptomatic than in asymptomatic patients (69% vs 36%; p = 0.001).We conclude that the unsatisfactory diagnostic accuracy of IPG in asymptomatic DVT is due to the high prevalence of distal, small and non occlusive thrombi. Such thrombi are unlikely to cause a critical obstruction of the venous outflow and therefore to produce a positive IPG.


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 876
Author(s):  
Igor Gonçalves ◽  
Laécio Rodrigues ◽  
Francisco Airton Silva ◽  
Tuan Anh Nguyen ◽  
Dugki Min ◽  
...  

Surveillance monitoring systems are highly necessary, aiming to prevent many social problems in smart cities. The internet of things (IoT) nowadays offers a variety of technologies to capture and process massive and heterogeneous data. Due to the fact that (i) advanced analyses of video streams are performed on powerful recording devices; while (ii) surveillance monitoring services require high availability levels in the way that the service must remain connected, for example, to a connection network that offers higher speed than conventional connections; and that (iii) the trust-worthy dependability of a surveillance system depends on various factors, it is not easy to identify which components/devices in a system architecture have the most impact on the dependability for a specific surveillance system in smart cities. In this paper, we developed stochastic Petri net models for a surveillance monitoring system with regard to varying several parameters to obtain the highest dependability. Two main metrics of interest in the dependability of a surveillance system including reliability and availability were analyzed in a comprehensive manner. The analysis results show that the variation in the number of long-term evolution (LTE)-based stations contributes to a number of nines (#9s) increase in availability. The obtained results show that the variation of the mean time to failure (MTTF) of surveillance cameras exposes a high impact on the reliability of the system. The findings of this work have the potential of assisting system architects in planning more optimized systems in this field based on the proposed models.


2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 3674-3681 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Thisted Lambertz ◽  
M.-L. Danielsson-Tham

ABSTRACT Approximately 550 to 600 yersiniosis patients are reported annually in Sweden. Although pigs are thought to be the main reservoir of food-borne pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica, the role of pork meat as a vehicle for transmission to humans is still unclear. Pork meat collected from refrigerators and local shops frequented by yersiniosis patients (n = 48) were examined for the presence of pathogenic Yersinia spp. A combined culture and PCR method was used for detection, and a multiplex PCR was developed and evaluated as a tool for efficient identification of pathogenic food and patient isolates. The results obtained with the multiplex PCR were compared to phenotypic test results and confirmed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). In all, 118 pork products (91 raw and 27 ready-to-eat) were collected. Pathogenic Yersinia spp. were detected by PCR in 10% (9 of 91) of the raw pork samples (loin of pork, fillet of pork, pork chop, ham, and minced meat) but in none of the ready-to-eat products. Isolates of Y. enterocolitica bioserotype 4/O:3 were recovered from six of the PCR-positive raw pork samples; all harbored the virulence plasmid. All isolates were recovered from food collected in shops and, thus, none were from the patients' home. When subjected to PFGE, the six isolates displayed four different NotI profiles. The same four NotI profiles were also present among isolates recovered from the yersiniosis patients. The application of a multiplex PCR was shown to be an efficient tool for identification of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica isolates in naturally contaminated raw pork.


2016 ◽  
Vol 144 (10) ◽  
pp. 2165-2175 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. VRBOVA ◽  
D. M. PATRICK ◽  
C. STEPHEN ◽  
C. ROBERTSON ◽  
M. KOEHOORN ◽  
...  

SUMMARYThe objective of this study was to assess the use of statistical algorithms in identifying significant clusters ofSalmonellaspp. across different sectors of the food chain within an integrated surveillance programme. Three years of weeklySalmonellaserotype data from farm animals, meat, and humans were used to create baseline models (first two years) and identify weeks with counts higher than expected using surveillance algorithms in the third (test) year. During the test year, an expert working group identified events of interest reviewing descriptive analyses of same data. The algorithms did not identifySalmonellaevents presenting as gradual increases or seasonal patterns as identified by the working group. However, the algorithms did identify clusters for further investigation, suggesting they could be a valuable complementary tool within an integrated surveillance system.


1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiina Autio ◽  
Sebastian Hielm ◽  
Maria Miettinen ◽  
Anna-Maija Sjöberg ◽  
Kaarina Aarnisalo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Sites of Listeria monocytogenes contamination in a cold-smoked rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) processing plant were detected by sampling the production line, environment, and fish at different production stages. Two lots were monitored. The frequency of raw fish samples containing L. monocytogenes was low. During processing, the frequency of fish contaminated with L. monocytogenes clearly rose after brining, and the most contaminated sites of the processing plant were the brining and postbrining areas. A total of 303 isolates from the raw fish, product, and the environment were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). PFGE yielded nine pulsotypes, which formed four clusters. The predominating L. monocytogenespulsotypes of the final product were associated with brining and slicing, whereas contaminants of raw fish were not detected in the final product. Air-mediated contamination in the plant could not be proved. In accordance with these results, an L. monocytogenes eradication program was planned. The use of hot steam, hot air, and hot water seemed to be useful in eliminatingL. monocytogenes. None of the control samples taken in the 5 months after the eradication program was implemented containedL. monocytogenes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (40) ◽  
pp. 2960-2964
Author(s):  
Mohsen Barzegar ◽  
Amir Vaghefi ◽  
Adele Pouyafard ◽  
Seyed Mojtaba Alavikia

BACKGROUND Odontogenic infections are recognized as one of the most common diseases in the world. Organisms that cause dental infection and are a part of the oral normal flora include dental plaque bacteria, mucosal surface bacteria, and gingival bacteria. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of odontogenic infections by involving the facial and cervical spaces in patients referred to Shahid Rahnemoon Hospital from 2014 to 2018. METHODS This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The sampling method was census and 308 patients with all types of odontogenic infections associated with the involvement of the facial and cervical spaces referred to Shahid Rahnemoon Hospital from 2014 to 2018 were included in the study. Questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was entered into SPSS version 23 software and analysed using statistical tests. RESULTS The mean age of participants was 31.10 ± 14.48; the mean number of hospitalization days was 4.83 ± 2.52 days; the mean body temperature was 37.45 ± 0.54. Of the 308 patients studied, 221 (71.8 %) had no history of systemic disease. Also, 294 (5 %) had no airway involvement. The most commonly prescribed antibiotic was penicillin + metronidazole with a frequency of 54.9 %, The most common tooth that was the source of infection was mandibular tooth no. 6 with a frequency of 22.7 %, the most common type of treatment was incision + drainage + antibiotic therapy with a frequency of 44.2 %; the most common involved area was the submandibular + buccal space with a frequency of 20.1 % and the most common age range of involvement was 20 - 29 years. CONCLUSIONS In odontogenic infections, penicillin + metronidazole is the most commonly used antibiotic and buccal + submandibular space is the most common area involved. KEY WORDS Odontogenic Infection, Facial Spaces, Cervical Spaces


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
Dora Dadzie ◽  
Adolphina Addo-Lartey ◽  
Nana Peprah ◽  
Ernest Kenu

Background: We evaluated the pneumonia surveillance system in Tema Metropolis to determine whether it is meeting its objectives and to assess its attributes.Design: Descriptive primary and secondary data analysisData Source: We interviewed health staff on the system’s operation and resources. We also extracted 2012-2016 surveillance dataset for under-five pneumonia cases and deaths from the District Health Information Management System for review.Participants: Health staffIntervention: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated guidelines for evaluating surveillance systems was used to assess system attributes. Main outcome measure: state of the pneumonia surveillance system in TemaResults: A suspected case was defined as fast breathing in any child < 5 years old. The case definition was easy to apply, even at the community level. From 2012 to 2016, a total of 3,337 cases and 54 deaths (case fatality rate 1.6%) was recorded from 13 (23.6%) of 55 health facilities. Two epidemics were missed by the district because data were not being analysed. There were no laboratory data on antimicrobial resistance. Although reporting timeliness increased from 28.1% in 2012 to 83% in 2016, data inconsistencies existed between reporting levels.Conclusion: The surveillance system for under-five pneumonia in Tema Metropolis is simple, stable, flexible, timely,but of low sensitivity and acceptability, and only partly meeting its objectives. Major shortcomings are lack of laboratory data, non-use of data and low representativeness.Keywords: Under-five Pneumonia, Surveillance System Evaluation, Tema, GhanaFunding: The study was supported by a grant to author DB by the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) -CDC CoAg 6NU2GGH001876


2021 ◽  
pp. 50-53
Author(s):  
Divya Jain ◽  
Umesh Shukla ◽  
Jyotsna Madan ◽  
Bhanu K Bhakri ◽  
Devendra Kumar Gupta ◽  
...  

Background and objectives: Worldwide literature on presentation of patients infected with novel coronavirus shows huge variability in terms of severity and outcome depending on the demographic characteristics of the affected population. We aim to present epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients admitted at our facility. Methods: Retrospective analysis of epidemiological, and clinical characteristics of patients admitted at a dedicated COVID hospital in North India. Results: Records of 245 patients were analyzed. The mean (SD) age was 32 (17.87) years ranging from 1 day to 81 years. Children <18 years of age constituted around 18% of the study population of which only about a fourth (23%) were symptomatic. About 52.4% of patients were males. Almost 40% cases were detected through contact tracing of known infected patients and in about 56% cases the source of infection was indeterminate. About 67% were asymptomatic and most of the symptomatic patients had mild disease. Among the symptomatic patients cough (19.9%) and fever (17.1%) were most common symptoms followed by throat irritation. Comorbidities were present in 32 (13.06%) patients, of which hypertension in 6.12% was the most common. There were 22 (8.97%) health care workers (HCW) among the patients. Majority of the affected HCW were working in areas with relatively low infection risk. Six (2.44%) patients required oxygen supplementation. The mean duration of stay in hospital was 9.6 ±.57 days. Interpretations & Conclusions: Our observations indicate a relatively younger age of affected population and high proportion of asymptomatic patients. Children are usually asymptomatic with relatively better prognosis.


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