In the news

On February 15, 2019 the CDC updated the status of the Salmonella Reading outbreak in raw turkey, by stating that since the last update in December 63 people got ill in 24 states. Since the beginning of the outbreak 279 people were reported with the outbreak strain in 41 states, 107 people have been hospitalized. One death has been reported from California. Ill people reported buying many different brands of raw turkey products from multiple stores. Also, 4 of the 141 ill people interviewed became sick after pets in their home ate raw ground turkey Five of the 141 ill people interviewed worked in a facility that raises or processes turkeys or lived with someone who did. A single, common supplier of raw turkey products, or of live turkeys, has not been identified that could account for the whole outbreak. Related to this outbreak are recalls by (i) Woody’s Pet Food Deli in Minnesota recalled raw turkey pet food. (ii) Two recalls by Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales, LLC, and (iii) Raws for Paws of Minneapolis, MN @ https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/reading-07-18/index.html

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) inspection announced the recall of various baby and toddler foods produced by Vivi and Tom Baby Food, from the marketplace because they may permit the growth of Clostridium botulinum. The recalled products include: Beef Meatballs, Broccoli, Potato & Basil Purée, Beef & Squash Purée, Salmon & Mango Purée, Salmon & Mango Purée, Chicken & Parsnip Purée, Liver & Pear Purée, Sweet Potato Applesauce, Fish Cakes, Chicken Meatballs, Carrot, Peach & Apricot Purée, and Squash Bites. These products have been distributed across Ontario. There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products. On their Instagram account, the company wrote: “This recall has been issued because our jars do not explicitly state on a label that they require refrigeration or freezing. If the food is not properly stored, there is a risk of Clostridium botulinum,” @ https://www.inspection.gc.ca/eng/1297964599443/1297965645317

In a research study, published in the January 2019 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases a team of scientists at the University of Georgia Center for Food Safety used more than a thousand genomes to develop a machine-learning approach that could lead to quicker identification of the animal source of certain Salmonella outbreaks. The study used an algorithm (Random Forest), and data from <1,300 S. Typhimurium genomes from known sources (CDC’s PulseNet network, the FDA’s GenomeTrakr database of sources in the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa and retail meat isolates from the FDA arm of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System). The system predicted the animal source of the S. Typhimurium with 83% accuracy. The algorithm performed best in predicting poultry and swine sources, followed by bovine and wild bird sources. The machine also detects whether its prediction is precise or imprecise. When the prediction was precise, the machine was accurate about 92 percent of the time. Frank Yiannas, deputy commissioner of the FDA, called the machine learning of whole genome sequences project “a new era of smarter food safety and epidemiology.”@ https://www.technologynetworks.com/informatics/news/machine-learning-helps-id-the-source-of-salmonella-315287
Reference: Al, S. Z. et. (n.d.). Zoonotic Source Attribution of Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium Using Genomic Surveillance Data, United States – Volume 25, Number 1—January 2019 – Emerging Infectious Diseases journal – CDC. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2501.180835

A paper was recently published in Nature Communications (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08438-0) show the results of the discovery of potentially new antibiotics from Streptomyces living in insects. With antibiotic resistance as a major global crisis and very few new antibiotics coming to market, this is an important discovery. Streptomyces isolated from insects inhibited antimicrobial-resistant pathogens more than isolates from soil and can be the source of new promising antibiotics. They are especially effective against gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Cyphomycin is an example of new chemistry from this innovative source. This new source for antimicrobial compounds can invigorate the stagnant antimicrobial pipeline. The new compound has low toxicity to animals.