Vina C.

Yu
BSFT- 4

BIRTHDAY CAKE DOWNS 13 KIDS, 2 ADULTS IN MASBATE

(Inquirer Southern Luzon / 04:54 PM April 19, 2017)

MASBATE CITY Health authorities are investigating a bakeshop in this city

after a cake bought from it caused 15 guests at a birthday party to be
hospitalized.

In an interview on Wednesday, Dr. Severino Bajar, Masbate provincial health

officer, said the victims 13 children and two adults felt ill after eating the
cake at a house in Barangay Igang on Monday.

After two to four hours they have consumed the food, they vomited, he said.

The victims were treated at provincial hospital and were discharged Wednesday
morning.

Bajar declined to share the name of the bakeshop and its owner since the
Surveillance and Epidemiology Department of Masbate province was still
investigating the case. Michael B. Jaucian /atm

Reference:
[1] Birthday cake downs 13 kids, 2 adults in Masbate. Retrieved June 22, 2017,
from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/890380/birthday-cake-downs-13-kids-2-
adults-in-masbate
Vina C. Yu
BSFT- 4

86 CHILDREN SICKENED IN ALABAMA OUTBREAK, STAPH

FOUND IN DAYCARE FOOD SAMPLES
By: News Desk | June 26, 2015

Eighty-six children may have been sickened by a Staphylococcus aureus toxin

found in food served at the Montgomery, AL, daycares they attended. Of those
children, 30 were hospitalized and, as of Friday, two were reportedly still there.
The Alabama Department of Public Health found the toxin in food products
served at both daycare center locations in Montgomery, which remain closed
while the investigation continues.

State Health Officer Don Williamson said Thursday that of eight food samples
tested, four were positive for staph. Clinical samples were all negative
for Norovirus and were also being tested for Salmonella, Shigella and E. coli,
but those results were not yet available.
Williamson said it was possible that the outbreak, which began at mid-afternoon
on Tuesday, may have started with lunch that day. The children were served
chicken and pasta, baked beans, bologna sandwiches, apples and peaches, he
said, which were apparently prepared at a kitchen at one of the daycare
locations and brought over to the other one.

Staph toxins can cause symptoms of illness from within a half-hour to several
hours after exposure. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), it cannot be destroyed by cooking. Food workers who
carry Staphylococcus and then handle food without washing their hands
contaminate foods by direct contact. The bacterium can also be found in
unpasteurized milk and cheese products. Staphylococcus is salt-tolerant and can
grow in salty foods like ham.
The initial story follows:

Dozens of children younger than 10 years old are being treated at Montgomery,
AL, hospitals for an apparent foodborne illness. A state health officer told local
media Tuesday night that more than 60 of them were from the Sunny Side Child
Care Center in west Montgomery.
At least 50 of the children are in a special unit at Baptist South Medical Center,
according to hospital spokeswoman Merrill South. She said their symptoms
included nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
The Alabama Department of Public Health has collected samples from the
daycare for testing, and officials said very preliminary information indicated it
could be a food-related illness.

State Health Officer Dr. Don Williamson said he didnt yet know what the
organism or mode of transmission might be.

We are trying to begin to pull pieces together. We are in the early data
collection phase. It sounds like this could be associated with a meal, suggesting
that this could be foodborne illness which encompasses solid foods and liquids.
Theres a lot of investigating to do, he said.

The daycare was sanitized on Tuesday night and was to be closed Wednesday
for additional cleaning. The owner, Thelma Thomas, told a local TV station she
was very sorry about the situation and concerned about the children. She also
said she thought the sickness had started with some teachers last week and was
a virus.

I have been in business since 1974, the day care is a clean center, and we offer
the best of food. This is a free summer camp to help keep the children off the
streets and in a safe place, Thomas said.

Reference:
[1] Update: 86 Children Sickened in Alabama Outbreak, Staph Found in
Daycare Food Samples. (2015, June 26). Retrieved June 22, 2017, from
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/06/dozens-of-children-from-alabama-
daycare-treated-for-foodborne-illness/#.WUxq3ICNfIU