https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/all-news
Quick takes: Plea for PAHO support, another death in NYC Legionnaires outbreak, frozen blueberry recall
News brief
Today at 2:19 p.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Legionella
E coli
Public Health
Quick takes: Plea for PAHO support, another death in NYC Legionnaires outbreak, frozen blueberry recall
News brief
Today at 2:19 p.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Legionella
E coli
Public Health
- More than 100 health and national security experts have signed an open letter to the Trump administration warning that its plan to eliminate funding for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will leave the country more vulnerable to infectious disease threats. The letter argues that PAHO, which was founded in 1902, has been a powerful investment in US health security and that being part of the organization gives the United States early warning about infectious diseases “before they reach American communities and farms” at a cost of just 0.0011% of total federal spending. “A nation that cannot detect and contain disease threats at their source cannot fully protect its people at home,” the letter states. “PAHO is a critical part of that defense in the Western Hemisphere.”
- Health officials in New York City have confirmed a seventh death in the Legionnaires disease outbreak in two neighborhoods on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. A total of 92 people have been sickened in the outbreak of the severe type of pneumonia, which is caused by breathing in water vapor containing Legionella bacteria, and five people remain in the hospital. No new cases have been identified since July 21. The NYC Health Department says 59 cooling towers have tested culture positive, confirming the presence of live Legionella, and all have since been cleaned and disinfected.
- Grocery chain Publix this week announced a recall of all lots of GreenWise Organic Frozen Whole Blueberries and Whole Mixed Berries, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday in an update on its investigation into an Escherichia coli O145:H28 outbreak in Georgia and Florida. Interviews with nine of the 12 people who’ve been sickened in the outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E coli have identified GreenWise frozen organic blueberries, which come from a producer in Chile, as a leading food item of interest. The FDA says it is working with state partners to actively identify the source of contamination. Customers who’ve purchased the products are advised to discard them or return them to Publix for a refund.