Salmonella super bug on the rise. Feeding animals and birds with antibiotics increases the threat of salmonella. Scientists have issued a warning against a potentially lethal drug-resistant form of the food poisoning bug salmonella.

Experts from the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) say a strain of salmonella, known as Salmonella Typhimurium DT 104, has become resistant to at least four antibiotics.

They are worried that the strain, which first appeared in cattle in the late 1980s and has now spread to pigs, sheep and poultry, could become more common and more resistant to treatment.

It first appeared in the UK in 1990 and already accounts for around 15% of all salmonella cases. Experts are particularly worried about it entering the human bloodstream where it could lead to blood poisoning with potentially lethal consequences.

In most cases, salmonella affects the stomach, causing sickness, diarrhea and pain, but rarely kills. Statistics show that the UK has a low incidence of blood poisoning through salmonella compared with the USA where 13% of cases get into the bloodstream.

The E.coli bug was relatively harmless until the arrival of the 0157 strain which was responsible for the deaths of 20 people in Scotland. Resistant Writing in The Lancet, Dr John Threlfall of the PHLS said statistics for 1994, 1995 and 1996 showed that the incidence of DT 104 was just below that of the strain of salmonella which most commonly affects humans.

His research also found that the strain was becoming more resistant to antibiotics. Statistics for 1997 show it is rapidly mutating and becoming resistant to more antibiotics, leaving doctors with less and less choice over which drugs to use against it.

Those most at risk are the elderly, the very young and the infirm. Dr Threlfall blamed the overuse of antibiotics in farming for the strain's rise.  "These drugs are used legitimately for therapeutic purposes in animals, but at the same time they cause increasing resistance," he said. "This is an example of what can happen as a result of the use of antibiotics in agriculture".
 
 

As federal food safety inspectors search for the source of E.coli bacteria that contaminated ground beef from a Nebraska processing plant, a serious new threat to the U.S. beef supply is being overlooked, according to an upcoming article in U.S. News and World Report.

Increasingly, American cattle farmers feed their herds chicken manure, which health officials warn could contain dangerous bacteria that ends up in ground meat eaten by humans, the magazine reports in its September 1 issue. The waste that is mixed with livestock feed is a less expensive alternative to using grains and hay.

The practice is increasingly being used by cattle farmers in regions where there are large poultry operations -- and thus a ready supply of cheap manure -- such as California, the South and the mid-Atlantic states.

The U.S. News article cites as an example Dardanelles, Arkansas, farmer Lamer Carter, who recently bought 745 tons of manure from local chicken houses to feed his 800 head of cattle.   "My cows are as fat as butterballs," Carter said. "If I didn't have chicken litter, I'd have to sell half my herd. Other feed's too expensive."

Chicken manure often contains campylobacteria and salmonella bacteria, which can make humans sick. Intestinal parasites, veterinary drug residues and heavy toxic metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury are also often present in the waste, the article says.

The article points to a scientific study, soon to be published in the journal Preventive Medicine, that warns about the potential dangers of recycling chicken waste by feeding it to cattle.    "Feeding manure that has not been properly processed is supercharging the cattle feces with pathogens likely to cause disease in consumers," Dr. Neal Barnard, author of the study, warns in the U.S. News article.

There are no accurate statistics on how common the practice of feeding chicken manure to cattle is, the magazine report says, but with a recent ban on the use of slaughterhouse byproducts --  imposed because of the "mad cow" disease scare -- there is a shortage of cattle feed filler.

About 75 percent of the 90 million cattle in the United States were fed slaughterhouse wastes that included blood, bones and viscera. Millions of euthanized cats and dogs, collected from veterinarians and animal shelters, have long been rendered into livestock feed each year, the article says.
 
 

The government wants to impose new restrictions on antibiotics for animals to combat concerns that on-the-farm medication is creating drug-resistant germs that could wind up in the meat that people eat.

Antibiotics are fast losing their power against numerous germs, which get a chance to mutate into untreatable strains every time they encounter the drugs. Most to blame are humans: doctors who overprescribe antibiotics, and patients who take them improperly.

But many scientists say antibiotics on the farm are forcing food-borne germs to start mutating, too. Among the evidence: chicken sold in Minnesota supermarkets contaminated with food-poisoning campylobacter that was resistant to one powerful antibiotic. In addition, a strain of salmonella impervious to five antibiotics nearly killed a Vermont dairy farmer.

Almost half the 50 million pounds of U.S.-produced antibiotics is used in animals. Eighty percent is used not to treat sick animals, but instead to promote animals' growth by adding small doses into their feed.

Outbreak of flu-like bug spreading!  No commercial food is 100% safe!

Listeriosis, a condition caused by potentially deadly Listeria bacteria, causes no more than flu-like symptoms for most healthy people. But it can kill, by causing meningitis or blood infection.

"This is a very dangerous bacteria," said Dr. Stephen Ostroff of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We know there are many bacteria that cause food-borne disease, but amongst the various bacteria -- many of which are much more familiar, such as salmonella and E.coli -- this one can be quite dangerous."

Keeping raw meat away from cooked food and washing everything that might come in contact with raw meat also reduces the chances the bacteria will cause problems. Those in a high risk group should avoid soft cheeses, such as feta, brie, blue-veined and Mexican-style cheese, experts recommend.

Study casts doubts on genetically modified food - Antibiotic-resistance genes introduced into food could jump to bacteria in the gut. "The results show that DNA lingers in the intestine, and confirms that genetically modified bacteria can transfer their antibiotic-resistance genes to bacteria in the gut,"

One of the concerns about genetically engineered crops is that antibiotic-resistant genes could transfer to animals and humans and create superbugs that cannot be killed by even the strongest antibiotics. Environmental groups have urged the government to ban all genetically modified food. Top British chefs on Tuesday put their weight behind opposition to what some have nicknamed "Frankenstein's food."

It's clear that hamburger and other food items cause more than 20,000 cases of E.coli 0157:H7 each year.

May 1998, a Minneapolis-based Malt-O-Meal Inc. recalled millions of pounds of cereal after almost 200 people became sick in several states from a rare form of salmonella. It's still unknown how the cereal became contaminated.

June 1998, close to 100 people in Illinois fell ill from a rare form of E.coli linked to contaminated potato salad.

June 1998, over 300 cases of flu-like illness in people in several states who ate raw oysters. Some health experts said a stronger strain of bacteria may have developed.

Eating fresh fruits and vegetables may be good for your health, but some may contain levels of residual toxic pesticides that can be particularly dangerous to your health.

March 1999, The outbreak of a rare strain of Listeria bacteria has killed more than 20 people who ate hot dogs, with nearly 100 others sickened by the meat.

The bacteria E.coli O157:H7, a strain that in severe cases can cause kidney failure and death. In November 1998, possible contamination with that strain led to the recall of 600,000 pounds of frozen ground beef patties from a Chicago processing plant.

More than two dozen children became infected with E.coli after playing at an Atlanta water park. Two of the children remain hospitalized.

Salt and Adult food can kill your baby!Click here for more details.

1999, March  24: An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at a Dutch flower show has killed 18 people and infected at least 231. The symptoms usually associated with the pneumonia-like disease.

Early reports that the bacteria came from a water fountain or other decorative water installations at the flower show were still not confirmed.

The investigation had been widened to see if two related events in the same building could possibly have spread the illness.

The week-long annual flower show, one of many held in the country each spring, attracted about 80,000 people this year.

Autopsies have now confirmed that five of the victims died from the bacterial infection, which is spread through tiny droplets of contaminated water.

Legionnaires' disease, which is relatively rare but potentially deadly, was discovered after an outbreak at a 1976 convention of the American Legion in Pennsylvania, where 220 people were infected and 34 died.

The bacteria that are believed to cause the illness are found in soil and grow in air-conditioning ducts, storage tanks and rivers. Experts estimate that one in six cases is fatal.

According to health officials, about 30,000 new cases of Hepatitis A are reported every year in the US -- the virus may be transmitted through the water. -- "Also fish, if it's any fish or food that's washed in water that's contaminated."  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that the old saying "don't drink the water" may not be enough. "The average "Hepatitis A virus" incubation period is about a month, but the range is 15 to 50 days,"

1999, March 20:  Malaysian troops started shooting the first of more than 300,000 pigs Saturday in an attempt to stop the spread of a virus that has killed more than 50 people.

There were an estimated two million pigs in the country before the outbreak and thousands have already been slaughtered.

The operation was mounted in response to an outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis (JE), which is latent in infected pigs and spread to man by mosquitoes. A second virus, although unidentified as yet, has been isolated and is also believed to be pig-related. The virus, which attacks the brain and causes high fever, vomiting and coma.

Most residents had fled their homes since the outbreak began. The rest were evacuated by police Friday.

News that a second virus had been identified added to the confusion which has prompted many panic-stricken residents of the area to flee, abandoning their pigs.

The new virus was part of the Paramyxo family of viruses, unrelated to JE. Five of the deaths in Negri Sembilan were caused by the new virus.

One person has died and 10 have been hospitalized in Singapore with suspected encephalitis since the disease spread there last week from Malaysia.

As of March 27, 1999. The death toll from an epidemic in Malaysia of the killer virus Japanese Encephalitis has reached 63, the national news agency said Saturday. The national news agency Bernama said a total of 78 people are now hospitalized with what could be the disease, which is transmitted from pigs to humans.

The 1918 flu virus thatkilled more than 20 million people may have quietly percolated for several years, trading back and forth between pigs and people, until suddenly growing strong enough to become the worst recorded global epidemic.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta was sending scientists to Malaysia to investigate the mystery disease.

April 8, 1999 -- KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A tropical virus that has killed dozens of people in Malaysia is the first of its kind and virologists are stumped as to how it spreads, an American health official said today.  Nine scientists from the United States and other experts from Australia, Taiwan and Japan arrived in Malaysia several weeks ago to help the Southeast Asian country determine the nature of the virus believed to be  spreading from pigs to humans. The outbreak has killed 90 people.

 "This is a new, previously unrecognized virus found in humans,'' Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta told The Associated Press by telephone. "This virus has never been seen before.''

But in late February, about 70 people died in a month, including pig farmers who received a vaccine for the Japanese encephalitis virus. Symptoms are the same for both viruses – high fever, aches, eventual coma and death.

OBLIVSKAYA, Russia (CNN) -- 27 July, 1999 - mysterious illness caused by mysterious virus - All windows are shut tight in this southern Russia town, despite the summer heat. Food markets are abandoned. The only movement in town is an ambulance.

"We're afraid we're going to die, so no one goes outside," said a woman named Masha.

Masha's   daughter is one of dozens of townspeople who have fallen ill. The World Health Organization said July 26 that laboratory tests confirmed 65 cases of Crimean-Congo fever. The WHO said at least six people have died from the disease, including three children. The disease causes bleeding from the ears and nose. Eventually, the disease destroys blood vessels and the nervous system.

7 AM News - 6 August 1999 - Returning from a trip to Africa's Ivory Coast to make a television wildlife film, Olaf Ullman began hemorrhaging through his eyes and ears. Worried health experts rushed him and his family into quarantine.

The man, his wife and child are now in quarantine at a Berlin clinic, where doctors are trying to determine if the disease actually is Ebola, which so far hasn't penetrated the European continent. The deadly disease, which has devastated parts of Africa, kills 80 percent of its victims and is highly contagious.

The victim flew from Abidjan to Zurich, where he then boarded a Swissair flight to Berlin. Ebola experts say that the disease is spread by skin-to-skin contact, especially "mucus membrane" areas such as eyes, mouth, etc. Whether or not the disease can be easily spread by coughing or sneezing is still under debate; as is the vital question of transmission in a closed-air system such as an airplane.

German cameraman Olaf Ullman died today of what doctors identified as yellow fever. They said that the diagnosis was held up because Ullman had been vaccinated against the deadly disease and therefore it wasn't a priority in unraveling the diagnosis. Right now, doctors don't know the source of his illness, which have now attacked his liver and kidneys. The Institute of Tropical Medicine is trying to isolate and identify the disease that now has Ullman in serious condition, with doctors battling liver and kidney failure.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - 5 Sept. 1999 - N.Y. Tracing Fatal E.coli Bacteria - An outbreak of E.coli bacteria at a county fair is believed to have killed a 3 y.o. girl and sickened at least 85 other people in northern New York. Thirty-eight fairgoers remained hospitalized Sunday with E.coli contamination, hospital officials said. E.coli bacteria can be transmitted through contaminated meat, but Smith said not all of the victims ate meat at the fair. It also can be passed through exposure to an infected person or by ingesting tainted liquids. Most strains of E.coli bacteria are harmless, but some -- like the one linked to the Washington County Fair -- can be deadly. Symptoms include abdominal cramps, diarrhea and fever.

7am-News wire - 12 September 1999: Half Of All African Newborns Have HIV - In Africa, Aids is out of control. An international conference opened in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia Sunday, to find ways to tackle the Aids problem.

By some estimates, 34 million Africans have contracted the HIV virus and almost 12 million have already died. The executive director of the United Nations Aids agency, Dr Peter Piot, estimates that half of all newborn babies in Africa carry the HIV virus.  The BBC reports that Southern Africa is now the epicenter of new infections and almost a quarter of adults in Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe are HIV positive. And in South Africa, 1500 people are infected with HIV every day.

With such a high rate of infection, the economic and social impact on African countries is huge.  The aim of the 5000 delegates at the conference is to find ways to care for those already infected and to find new methods of containing further spread of the disease. The meeting will discuss ways to change sexual behavior and lobbying to make drugs that alleviate the effects of Aids cheaper to buy. Speakers at the conference said they were disappointed by a seeming lack of political will in Africa to address the Aids problem. No African heads of state made an appearance at the meeting.

(CNN) -- September 28, 1999 - Public health officials continued efforts Tuesday to correctly identify and contain the Mosquito-borne virus which has killed four people and infected at least 33 others in the New York City region.

The virus, first misidentified as St. Louis encephalitis, has been never seen before in the Western Hemisphere and is causing great concern for both public health officials and New York residents.

The Centers for Disease Control has reclassified the cases as West-Nile-like virus. Health officials do not know how this fatal disease came to be in the United States.

In Westchester County, immediately north of New York City, officials on Monday announced the county's first death in the mysterious disease outbreak, and said the number of confirmed cases had doubled to eight. The fatality was a woman in her 60s from New Rochelle who died about two weeks ago.

The West-Nile-like virus is part of a family of vector-borne diseases, which need a blood-sucking insect to carry them to humans. The group includes malaria, yellow fever and lyme disease.

Scientists are continuing lab tests looking for the virus in brain samples, blood and spinal fluid. More than 100 cases will be re-examined as authorities admit the health toll may be greater than first thought.

(1)Cold and Flu (virus) is spreading, watch what you drink, watch what you eat, and even watch the air you are breathing. Wash your hands often, Don't rub your eyes or nose, don't keep your hair wet for over 15 minutes; remember, Antibiotics do not kill viruses, you may want to take vitamin C, Echinacea, Zinc and MicroBio for an entire month. Treatments also include: (a) Vitamin C, NeoCitran, (b) St John's wort, Antiphlogistc herbs, (c) Valerian, Acupuncture and Moxibution, (d) Vitamin C, CoQ10.

Indigestion, which plagues 25 percent to 40 percent of people in Western nations, is only partly understood. Its symptoms include burning, gas, nausea and pain, which can be caused by stress, stomach ulcers, gallstones, inflammation of the esophagus and eating too much, too fast or spicy or fatty foods. Warning: Some heartburn symptoms are related to Cancer, click here for more info.

(2)Bacteria - A deadly form of strep bacteria has infected 11 people in the Chicago area, killing five of them. The Illinois Health Department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating to find the source of the strep A infections.  The CDC says about 10,000 to 15,000 people in the United States develop the illness each year, and about 2,000 die. Dr. Robert Tiballi, a physician who treated several of the victims, urged anyone with symptoms: (a sore throat, high fever, chills and painful swelling of the joints and limbs) to see a physician quickly.  "Don't delay getting evaluated. People should not believe they have the flu and that this will just go away," he said. Warning region in Canada: Quebec, Ontario, B.C.

(3)Food- A number of outbreaks of food-borne illnesses this year were linked to fruits or vegetables contaminated with bacteria. Recently, basil has been connected to an outbreak of cyclospora, tomatoes with salmonella and alfalfa sprouts with both E.coli and salmonella. Packages of sprouts now suggest they be rinsed before serving. Fresh herbs, such as basil, should always be carefully washed, especially when raw.

All fruits, in fact, should be washed on the outside even though their peels are not consumed. Oranges, Apples, Lemons or melons, for example, should be cleaned because they may come into contact with other foods, beveragesortoxic pesticides.

(4) Take care of cold and flu - prevention with Vitamin A. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps you see normally in the dark and promotes the growth and health of all body cells and tissues. It also protects against infection by keeping healthy the skin and tissues in the mouth, stomach, intestines and respiratory and uro-genital tract.

Vitamin A Deficiency problems: Night blindness and other eye problems; dry, scaly skin, problems with reproduction, poor growth.

Vitamin A Food sources: Liver, fish oil, eggs, milk fortified with vitamin A; red, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables, dark green, leafy vegetables.

Excess of vitamin A: Can lead to birth defects, headaches, vomiting, double vision, hair loss, bone abnormalities and liver damage.

Of course, vitamin C, Echinacea, Zinc, Antiphlogistc herbs are also important for Cold prevention. A simple 5 steps to better health is a very important key to step up your health.

By the way, you must wash your hands as often as possible, many viruses are highly contagious on contact (hand-shaking for example), viruses such as Ebola, Flu, Encephalitis, Lassa, Marburg, Hanta and yellow fever could be transmitted by Air, Water, or Hand-shaking.

Warning! CNN -  News - 14-08-99, Officials warn I-95 restaurant patrons of exposure to hepatitis A

SMITHFIELD, North Carolina (AP) -- http://www.cnn.com/FOOD/news/9908/13/hepatitisa.ap/

Hundreds of travelers may have been exposed to hepatitis A at a steak house off Interstate 95, the East Coast's major north-south traffic corridor, health officials say. The virus can cause nausea, diarrhea, jaundice and fatigue. It is spread when an infected person fails to wash his hands properly .

A Texas Steakhouse employee was diagnosed recently with the virus, said North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Debbie Crane. She said the employee had been filling glasses with ice, placing rolls on plates and splitting and buttering baked potatoes.

Health officials said as many as 2,000 people, many of them travelers from out of state, may have been exposed. An immune globulin shot within two weeks of exposure can protect people from the virus. Hepatitis A symptoms usually appear within a month of exposure. About 30,000 new cases of Hepatitis A are reported every year in the United States.

CNN - Health officials concerned about bacteria deaths - August 20, 1999 at: 5:18 a.m. EDT (0918 GMT)

ATLANTA (AP) -- Federal health officials have confirmed the deaths of four Midwestern children linked to drug-resistant staph infections they acquired outside a hospital setting. The children, ages 1 to 13, acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aural infections between 1997 and 1999. None of the children had been recently hospitalized before their deaths, the CDC said.

Staph bacteria are the No. 1 cause of hospital-acquired infections in the United States, blamed for 13 percent of the 2 million hospital infections annually. Half of staph bacteria infections contracted by hospital patients in 1997 were resistant to a large class of antibiotics, up from 1974, when only 2 percent were drug-resistant, the CDC said.

Doctors recently have seen an increase in drug-resistant infections acquired outside of hospitals although CDC researchers said they don't know yet to what extent. "The resistant bacteria have been around 30 years but these four cases suggest it may be getting into the general population," said Dr. Timothy Naimi, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC.

More information below:

(1) Mad-Cow Disease!

(2) National Food Safety Database

(3) Can Behavior Be Changed by Food Allergies?

(4) CNN-Health: How safe is your food?

(5) Institute of Food Research