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It’s quite ironic that when profits are down the first people they seem to target is technical people. Now it seems after a major outbreak of listeria from Maple Leaf Foods in Canada, they’ve created a senior role of Chief Food Safety officer.

Bacteria from a Maple Leaf plant in Toronto was linked to the deaths of UP TO 20 people in a nationwide outbreak that has affected all types of people. The company says the chief food safety officer will be responsible for leading Maple Leaf’s food safety and quality programs across the country.

Randall Huffman, currently the president of the American Meat Institute, will step into the new role as of Jan. 5.

Huffman has a PhD and a master’s degree in meat and animal science and has held a number of advisory positions in the field.

The position is one of several moves Maple Leaf is taking after sales of their products declined by up to 35 per cent following the recall, wiping out 94 per cent of the operating profits in its meat division.

I just hope we see more technical people in senior levels - safety should be in the same light as profits.

Two-thirds of meat samples taken from Toronto-area nursing homes and hospitals in mid-August for testing were contaminated with listeria, according to records obtained by CBC News and the Toronto Star in a joint investigation.

A listeriosis outbreak that health officials warned the public about in August has been linked to the deaths of 20 Canadians and prompted the largest food recall in Canadian history. Vinita Dubey, Toronto’s associate medical officer of health, said the test results illustrate the extent of the contamination.

“I’d never seen anything like this,” Dr. Dubey said after reviewing the test data for the first time.

‘The fact that so many came back positive shows how contaminated the source was.’—Vinita Dubey, Toronto associate medical officer of health

“Usually in our food investigations, we’ll send a number of samples for testing and most will be negative. The fact that so many came back positive shows how contaminated the source was,” she added.

The Ontario Ministry of Health and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in mid-August ordered public health units across the province to collect samples of processed meats such as turkey, ham and roast beef as part of the investigation into the listeriosis outbreak. A federal government source confirmed Wednesday that half of the samples tested positive for listeria, and Toronto was a hot spot.

Toronto Public Health inspectors collected 26 samples from nursing homes, hospitals and HIV/AIDS hospices on Aug. 14 and Aug. 15. Seventeen of those samples - roughly two-thirds of the total - tested positive for a dangerous strain of listeria.

“There shouldn’t be any positives,” said Rick Holley, a microbiologist who teaches at the University of Manitoba. “The reality is if you did a survey in the market, you might find one or two at most out of this sample [size] that are positive.… And it is a particularly virulent strain of listeria. It’s one of the bad ones.”

The results are also disturbing given that the samples were taken from institutions that house the elderly and infirm, Holley said. The highest risk groups in listeriosis outbreaks include people with weaker immune systems, such as children, pregnant women and the elderly.

“In an environment where these products are going to be consumed by that minority of the population that has some predisposition to some serious infection, this would represent significant challenge for those people,” he said.

Maple Leaf Foods has now confirmed that the test results, which it received on the evening of Aug. 16, prompted it to launch the massive recall of its meat products on Aug. 17.

“When we looked at [the test results], we felt it was important to do more and that’s why we closed the plant and recalled 191 products,” said Linda Smith, a spokeswoman for Maple Leaf.

The test results obtained by the CBC and the Toronto Star show that the meat had various levels of contamination, when the standard set by Health Canada calls for zero tolerance.

The meat samples that tested positive for listeria had best-before dates ranging from early August to early October. Holley said this suggests the meat from the Toronto Maple Leaf Foods plant was being contaminated over a period of nearly two months.

“Whatever the defect was here, it had to be a continuing source of contamination. There had to be a reservoir of the bacteria growing.”

Source: Microbiology News

Macrolides are a class of antibiotics known as broad-spectrum antibiotics that are used to treat a wide range of bacterial infections. Macrolides are derived from Streptomyces species. They have a common macrolytic lactone ring to which one or more sugars are attached. They are different from one another in their chemical substitutions on structures of various carbon atoms and the amino and neutral sugars.

Macrolides are one of the oldest classes of antibiotics. Macrolide antibiotics have been regarded among the best-tolerated antibiotics for almost 50 years. The first member of the class, Erythromycin was discovered in 1952. Newer macrolides, azithromycin, clarithromycin and dithromycin are semi-synthetic macrolides similar in structure to erythromycin. These agents have been developed to overcome the problems associated with erythromycin. The newer macrolide antibiotics offer the advantage of fewer adverse gastrointestinal effects than erythromycin and dosing regimens of only once or twice a day. The newer macrolides also have a broader spectrum of antibacterial activity than erythromycin. The newest generation of macrolides, the ketolides, whose clinical use is in its early stage, are characterized by improved activity against some of the resistant strains.

Macrolides advantages and disadvantages

Macrolides disadvantages:

severe allergic skin reactions
cardiac arrhythmias
many drug interactions including prolonging INR
macrolide resistance is reported for 20% - 30% of Streptococcus pneumoniae

The newer Macrolides advantages:

broad antibacterial spectrum
simple to use, convenient dosing regimens - daily or twice daily dosing regimen
side-effect profiles (low incidence of gastrointestinal side effects). One of the most important features of the macrolide class is the excellent safety profile allowing the drug to be used broadly across all age groups
macrolide antibiotics, as a group, are generally safe in pregnancy
excellent tissue and intracellular penetration
enhanced acid stabilities

Mechanism of action

The mechanism of action of the macrolides is inhibition of bacterial protein synthesis by binding reversibly to the subunit 50S of the bacterial ribosome, thereby inhibiting translocation of peptidyl-tRNA. This action is mainly bacteriostatic (inhibition the growth and reproduction of bacteria), but can also be bactericidal in high concentrations. Macrolides tend to accumulate within leukocytes, and are therefore actually transported into the site of infection.

Macrolides bind to the large ribosomal subunit in the vicinity of the peptidyl transferase center and cause cell growth arrest due to inhibition of protein synthesis.

Macrolides spectrum of antibacterial activity

Macrolides have activity against many gram-positive bacteria (excluding enterococci and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and have variable activity against respiratory gram-negative pathogens, Mycobacterium avium infections, gonorrhea. Macrolide antibiotics are noted for their intracellular accumulation and activity against intracellular pathogens such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Legionella spp. Apart from antimicrobial activities, macrolides can modify host cell functions.

Clarithromycin and azithromycin have similar spectrum to erythromycin but increased activity against Hemophilus, Mycobacterium avium intracellulare, and toxoplasma. Azithromycin has increased gram-negative activity, while clarithromycin has increased gram-positive activity.

Spectrum of activity:

Gram-positive aerobes (Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae (only PSSP), Group and viridans streptococci, Bacillus sp., Corynebacterium sp.).
Erythromycin and clarithromycin display the best activity (clarithromycin>erythromycin>azithromycin).
Gram-negative aerobes (H. influenzae, M. catarrhalis, Neisseria sp.).
Newer macrolides (clarithromycin and azithromycin) have enhanced activity (azithromycin>clarithromycin>erythromycin).
Anaerobes. Activity against upper airway anaerobes.
Atypical bacteria. All macrolides have excellent activity against atypical bacteria including: Legionella pneumophila - DOC, Chlamydia sp., Mycoplasma sp., Ureaplasma urealyticum.
Other bacteria. Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC Ц only A and C), Treponema pallidum, Campylobacter, Borrelia, Bordetella, Brucella, Pasteurella.

Conditions treated with Macrolides

Macrolide antibiotics have antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria, some gram-negative bacteria and intracellular pathogens. The spectrum of antibacterial activity combined with excellent intracellular and tissue penetration has led to the extensive use of this class of drugs in respiratory disease. Macrolide antibiotics also have demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties in various in vitro and in vivo model systems.

Macrolides are used to treat:

Respiratory tract infections (sinusitis, pharyngitis, lower respiratory tract infections)
Skin and soft tissue infections
Sexually transmitted diseases
Cervicitis, urethritis
Mycobacterial infections
H.pylori infections (clarithromycin, as part of triple therapy)

Macrolides are valuable alternatives to penicillins and cephalosporins in allergic patients.

This group of antibiotics has been widely used in children for their antibacterial effects against diseases such as diphtheria, pertussis, Mycoplasma pneumonia, Chlamydia pneumonia and Legionella.

Side effects

The macrolides are well-tolerated agents. The commonest side effects are gastro-intestinal disturbances (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dyspepsia, abdominal pain and cramps). Side effects are more common and severe with erythromycin therapy. Azithromycin and clarithromycin have fewer gastrointestinal side effects than erythromycin.

Allergic reactions, headache, taste disturbance, eosinophilia, reversible hearing loss, and hepatotoxicity are an infrequent occurrence with all the macrolides. Macrolides should be avoided in severe liver disease due to increased risk of hepatotoxicity and altered handling. Macrolide are contraindicated if there is a history of hypersensitivity.

Erythromycin is considered safe in pregnancy and breast feeding. Clarithromycin is safe in breast feeding (pregnancy category C). The evidence for safety of azithromycin is lacking, and use is therefore inadvisable unless benefit is considered to outweigh potential harm.

Drug interactions

Macrolides are divided into 3 groups for likely occurrence of drug-drug interactions:

group 1 (e.g. erythromycin) are frequently involved
group 2 (e.g. clarithromycin) are less commonly involved
group 3 (e.g. azithromycin, dirithromycin) drug interactions have not been described

Both erythromycin and clarithromycin inhibit the activity of the hepatic cytochrome P450 enzyme system. As a result, these agents reduce the metabolism and increase the serum concentration of other drugs eliminated through the P450 pathway. Azithromycin, due to differences in its chemical structure, does not cause these interactions. The following medications are known to be affected by erythromycin or clarithromycin:

anticoagulants
astemizole
bromocriptine
carbamazepine
cisapride
cyclosporine
digoxin
disopyramide
ergot alkaloids
methylprednisolone
terfenadine
theophylline and related compounds
triazolam

More information about antibiotic medications is available on author’s website - OriginalDrugs.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Yury_Bayarski

A 13th person has come down with Legionnaires’ disease and health officials say the bacteria that causes the deadly respiratory ailment has been found at a second location, a Syracuse nursing home.

Investigators searching for the source of the outbreak discovered the Legionella bacteria that causes the illness in the water system of the 526-bed Van Duyn Home and Hospital, said Gary Sauda, the Onondaga County director of environmental health.

Legionnaires’ is a severe form of pneumonia. People become infected by inhaling airborne water droplets that contain the bacteria. It can be fatal if left untreated.

So far one person has died since the outbreak began June 30, although health officials said they have not yet confirmed Legionnaires’ was the cause of the person’s death.

Investigators suspect the outbreak was caused by Legionella bacteria discovered in one of the air conditioning cooling towers at Community General Hospital, but they have not yet proven it. Six of 13 people infected were Community General patients.

In Legionnaires’ outbreaks, people up to two miles away from the source can be infected. The nursing home and hospital are located less than a half mile apart.

The staff at Van Duyn is working with state health department officials to minimize risks to the nursing home’s residents, Sauda said.

On Wednesday, officials at Community General reported that their first effort to kill the Legionella bacteria in its cooling towers two weeks ago did not work. The hospital performed a 24-hour disinfection process July 4. The hospital received test results Tuesday showing the bacteria was still present.

At that point, the hospital had already carried out a second 48-hour disinfection process over the weekend, following federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, said Tom Quinn, the hospital’s president and chief executive officer.

Test results from the second cleaning may not be available for two weeks, he said.

Coleraine Leisure Centre has been closed after the bacteria which causes Legionnaires’ disease was found in its water system.

Coleraine Borough Council said the leisure centre was closed on Monday after preliminary test results showed that the showering system was infected.

“All relevant agencies have been consulted and are advising council staff on how to proceed,” saidADVERTISEMENTa council spokesman. “Works have already commenced to disinfect the system.”

He said the leisure centre will remain closed until the council is satisfied that all tests results are clear.

Councillor John Dallat expressed relief that the bacteria was detected without any casualties and that the leisure centre was subsequently closed for disinfection.

“While this is disappointing news it shows the absolute need to carry out regular sampling to ensure the health of the public is protected,” he said.

“I have asked for a full report on the possible explanations for the presence of the contamination and the steps that should be taken to ensure that public confidence in this excellent facility is maintained,” he added.

Legionella is a bacteria found naturally in rivers, lakes and reservoirs, usually in low numbers. But water temperatures between 20 degrees and 50 degrees centigrade favour the bacteria’s growth.

Spread through the air via tiny water droplets, though this appears to happen only very rarely, the bacteria causes Legionnaires’ disease.

The early symptoms of the illness may be flu-like with muscle aches, headaches, tiredness and a dry cough followed by a fever, chills and occasionally diarrhoea and possible pneumonia. Symptoms usually occur three to six days after exposure.

Source

Listeria appears again - but this time in sandwiches wwhere it was sold to 20 people at Middlemore Hospital in New Zealand.

These pre-packaged Thai chicken sandwiches were sold on Monday at the hospital’s Aviary Cafe, which is mainly used by staff.

The contamination was detected in routine listeria testing where the results were given to the hospital yesterday.

It was not known last night whether other sandwich varieties at the cafe were infected, or if other products from the sandwiches’ supplier, Naturezone, were infected with listeria and had been distributed to other outlets.

The bacterium can be fatal to people with low immune systems and can cause miscarriages or stillbirths if it infects pregnant women.

A spokeswoman for Spotless Services, the company that runs the cafe, said it was not yet known how many of its outlets had been stocked with the sandwiches. Naturezone could not be reached for comment last night.

Auckland Regional Public Health Service spokesman Dr Greg Simmons said last night that greatly improved methods of testing were bringing the listeria cases to the surface.

All positive tests in the past three weeks had come from the same testing facility.

“We are conducting a thorough site inspection at the company and we will ensure extensive product and environmental testing to identify the source,” Dr Simmons said

Despite the relatively low risk, he said, it was a serious situation.

“We are concerned that a whole lot of ready-to-eat products look like they are being contaminated. We would be silly not to be concerned.”

The bacterium usually produces fever, diarrhoea and general unwellness within three weeks of infection, although it can take as long as 10 weeks for symptoms to show.

Here is the draft policy (Sec. 555.320) for Listeria monocytogenes in Ready To Eat (RTE) Foods.

This draft guideline, when finalized, will represent the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) current thinking on this topic. It does not create or confer any rights for or on any person and does not operate to bind FDA or the public. You can use an alternative approach if the approach satisfies the requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations. If you want to discuss an alternative approach, contact the FDA staff responsible for implementing this guidance. If you cannot identify the appropriate FDA staff, call the appropriate telephone number listed on the title page of this guidance.

INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this Compliance Policy Guide is to provide guidance to FDA Staff on FDA’s enforcement policy for Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) in foods.

FDA’s guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities. Instead, guidances describe the Agency’s current thinking on a topic and should be viewed only as recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited. The use of the word should in Agency guidances means that something is suggested or recommended, but not required.

BACKGROUND:
L. monocytogenes is a pathogenic bacterium that is widespread in the environment and may be introduced into a food processing facility. L. monocytogenes can contaminate foods and cause a mild illness (called listerial gastroenteritis) or a severe, sometimes life-threatening, illness (called invasive listeriosis). Foods that have been implicated in outbreaks of invasive listeriosis have been foods that are ready-to-eat (RTE).

RTE foods can be contaminated if ingredients in the foods are contaminated with L. monocytogenes and are not treated to destroy viable cells of this pathogen, or if L. monocytogenes is allowed to contaminate the RTE food because of improper sanitary conditions or practices. Most RTE foods do not contain detectable numbers of L. monocytogenes. For many RTE foods, contamination with L. monocytogenes can be avoided – e.g., through the application of current good manufacturing practice requirements that establish controls on ingredients, listericidal processes, segregation of foods that have been cooked from those that have not, and sanitation. Sanitation controls include effective environmental monitoring programs designed to identify and eliminate L. monocytogenes in and on surfaces and areas in the plant.

In 2003, FDA and the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, released a quantitative assessment (the Risk Assessment) of relative risk associated with consumption of certain categories of RTE foods that had a history of contamination with L. monocytogenes, or that were implicated epidemiologically with an outbreak or a sporadic case of listeriosis. The Risk Assessment estimated that the risk of listeriosis would vary widely among these food categories.

According to the Risk Assessment, foods estimated to pose the highest risk of being associated with listeriosis are RTE foods that support the growth of L. monocytogenes. Examples of RTE foods that support the growth of L. monocytogenes include:

Milk;
High fat and other dairy products (e.g., butter and cream);
Soft unripened cheeses (greater than 50 percent moisture) (e.g., cottage cheese and ricotta cheese);
Cooked crustaceans (e.g., shrimp and crab);
Smoked seafood (e.g., smoked finfish and mollusks);
Raw seafood that will be consumed as sushi or sashimi;
Many vegetables (such as broccoli, cabbage, and salad greens);
Non-acidic fruit (such as melon, watermelon, and papaya); and
Some deli-type salads and sandwiches (particularly those containing seafood and those prepared at retail establishments without acidification and/or the addition of antimicrobial substances).

In contrast, the foods estimated to pose the lowest risk of being associated with listeriosis are foods that, because of intrinsic factors, extrinsic factors, and/or processing factors do not support the growth of L. monocytogenes. Intrinsic factors include chemical and physical factors that are normally within the structure of the food, e.g., pH and water activity. Extrinsic factors are those that refer to the environment surrounding the food, e.g., storage temperature. Processing factors include substances added to adjust the pH of food (e.g., acids) and substances that, alone or in combination with other substances, have antimicrobial properties (e.g., sorbates and benzoates). It is well established that L. monocytogenes does not grow when:

The pH of the food is less than or equal to 4.4;
The water activity of the food is less than or equal to 0.92; or
The food is frozen.

Foods may naturally have a pH or water activity that prevents growth of L. monocytogenes or processing factors may be deliberately used to achieve those characteristics (e.g., by adding acid to deli-type salads to bring the pH to less than or equal to 4.4). At pH values above 4.4, processing factors generally are used in combination to prevent the growth of L. monocytogenes (e.g., sorbates or benzoates may be used in combination with organic acids such as acetic acid, lactic acid, and citric acid in foods such as deli-type salads). The effectiveness of a particular listeristatic control measure in preventing growth in a particular RTE food generally is determined case-by-case, for example, using the results of growth studies specific to the food matrix.

Examples of RTE foods that generally are considered to not support the growth of L. monocytogenes include:

Fish that are preserved by techniques such as drying, pickling, and marinating;
Ice cream and other frozen dairy products;
Processed cheese (e.g., cheese foods, spreads, slices);
Cultured milk products (e.g., yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk);
Hard cheeses (less than 39 percent moisture) (e.g., cheddar, colby, and parmesan);
Some deli-type salads, particularly those processed to a pH less than 4.4 and those containing antimicrobial substances such as sorbic acid/sorbates or benzoic acid/benzoates under conditions of use documented to be effective in preventing the growth of L. monocytogenes;
Some vegetables (such as carrots); and
Crackers, dry breakfast cereals, and other dry foods.

Fruits, vegetables, and cheeses (e.g., soft and semi-soft cheeses) not listed in this CPG may include some products that support growth as well as other products that do not support growth.

POLICY:
FDA will review the available evidence on a case-by-case basis to determine if a food is a RTE food that supports growth or a RTE food that does not support growth.

Ready-to-Eat Food

“Ready-to-eat food” (RTE food) means a food that is customarily consumed without cooking by the consumer, or that reasonably appears to be suitable for consumption without cooking by the consumer.

A food may be considered to be suitable for consumption without cooking by the consumer, and thus a RTE food, even though cooking instructions are provided on the label. For examples, fresh and frozen crabmeat and individually quick frozen (IQF) peas and corn may be RTE foods. Some consumers eat such products without cooking, because they appear to be ready-to-eat.

Ready-to-Eat Foods that Support Growth of L. monocytogenes

Generally, we intend to consider that a RTE food will support the growth of L. monocytogenes if it does not meet the characteristics of a RTE food that does not support growth, as indicated in section III.C.

FDA may regard a RTE food that supports growth of L. monocytogenes to be adulterated within the meaning of section 402(a)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act; the FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. 342(a)(1)) when L. monocytogenes is present in the food based on the detection method indicated in section IV.A.

Ready-to-Eat Foods that Do Not Support Growth of L. monocytogenes

A RTE food does not support the growth of L. monocytogenes if the food:
Has a pH that is less than or equal to 4.4; or
Is customarily held and consumed in a frozen state; or
Has a water activity that is less than 0.92; or
Is processed using an effective listeristatic control measure (e.g., an antimicrobial substance or a combination of factors such as pH, water activity, and antimicrobial substances).

FDA may regard a RTE food that does not support the growth of L. monocytogenes to be adulterated within the meaning of section 402(a)(1) of the Act (21 U.S.C. 342(a)(1)) when L. monocytogenes is present at or above 100 colony forming units per gram of food (cfu/g)

REGULATORY ACTION GUIDANCE:
Ready-to-Eat Foods that Support Growth of L. monocytogenes

The following represents criteria for recommending legal action to CFSAN/Office of Compliance/Division of Enforcement (HFS-605):
L. monocytogenes is detected in one or more subsamples of a RTE food that supports the growth of L. monocytogenes.

Use Bacteriological Analytical Manual Online, Chapter 10 - “Listeria monocytogenes,” “Detection and Enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes in Foods” as the method for detecting and confirming presence of L. monocytogenes (available at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~ebam/bam-10.html).

Ready-to-Eat Foods that Do Not Support Growth of L. monocytogenes

Consult with CFSAN/Office of Compliance/Division of Enforcement (HFS-605) before recommending legal action for RTE foods that do not support the growth of L. monocytogenes. Use ISO 11290-2:1998(E) “Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes - Part 2: Enumeration method” as the method for enumerating L. monocytogenes. (ISO 11290-2:1998/Amd. 1:2004(E) “Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes - Part 2: Enumeration method AMENDMENT 1: Modification of the enumeration medium” amends ISO 11290-2:1998(E). The amendment uses ALOA agar instead of PALCAM agar. If ALOA agar is not commercially available in the United States, use PALCAM according to ISO 11290-2:1998(E)). ISO methods are available from the International Organization for Standardization at http://www.iso.org/iso/en/ISOOnline.frontpage.

Use rapid biochemical test kits according to the Bacteriological Analytical Manual Online, Chapter 10 – “Detection and Enumeration of Listeria monocytogenes in Foods” Section E-11 (available at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~ebam/bam-10.html), instead of ISO 11290-2:1998(E) Section 9.5, for confirmation of L. monocytogenes isolates.

Foods that are Not RTE Foods
Consult with CFSAN/Office of Compliance/Division of Enforcement (HFS-605) when L. monocytogenes is present in a food that is not a RTE food.

Other Considerations

The criteria in this guidance do not establish an acceptable level of L. monocytogenes in food. FDA may choose to take legal action against adulterated food that does not meet the criteria for recommending legal action to CFSAN.

Further, the criteria in this guidance do not excuse violations of the requirement in section 402(a)(4) of the Act (21 U.S.C. 342(a)(4)) that food may not be prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions or the requirements in FDA’s good manufacturing practices regulation (21 CFR part 110). As set out in 21 CFR 110.80, food manufacturers must take “[a]ll reasonable precautions … to ensure that production procedures do not contribute contamination from any source.”

SPECIMEN CHARGES:
Domestic Seizure

The article of food was adulterated when introduced into and while in interstate commerce and is adulterated while held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce within the meaning of the Act, 21 U.S.C. 342(a)(1), in that it bears and contains a poisonous or deleterious substance, namely Listeria monocytogenes, which may render it injurious to health.

Import Detention
The article of food is subject to refusal of admission pursuant to section 801(a)(3) of the FD&C Act in that it appears to be adulterated within the meaning of section 402(a)(1) of the FD&C Act in that it bears and contains a poisonous or deleterious substance, Listeria monocytogenes, which may render it injurious to health.

The Phillips Fox tower.

One of Auckland’s fanciest skyscrapers has been cleared of bacteria that killed three Christchurch people in 2005 and an Auckland person last year.

High counts of the potentially lethal legionella were found in cooling towers on the DLA Phillips Fox tower and a nearby office block. The second building has not yet been named.

The property manager of the DHL Phillips Fox tower, Angus McNaughton, said high counts of the bacteria were found in the water cooling system a week before Christmas. “It’s common [to have high counts] at this time of year because of the heat and humidity,” said McNaughton, of Kiwi Income Properties Ltd. “We go through a monthly testing regime on all of our buildings. We discovered a high count and notified [the] authorities.”

Tenants were advised and urged to seek medical attention over the holiday break if they felt ill. If the bacteria is inhaled, sickness can rage from a mild respiratory illness called pontiac fever, to a form of pneumonia called legionnaires’ disease. Legionnaires’ was blamed for the death of one person in the Auckland coastal suburb of Beachlands last year. In 2005 three people died in Christchurch.

Advertisement”It’s like any bacteria and tries to breed,” McNaughton said. “There was a little rusty flange, so we replaced it and we’ve had a clean bill of health.

“One of the issues people don’t understand is because it was found in the cooling tower it doesn’t mean it’s in the building. The water tower is on the roof and the air intake is some 22m away, so the likelihood, our contractor said, of someone becoming sick is virtually nil.”

Public health officials in the U.S. are investigating a major outbreak of listeria and have found up to 16 samples with the listeria bacteria at a milk processing plant.

The outbreak has resulted in the deaths of 3 elderly men who have died since June after drinking pasteurized milk that was contaminated with the bacteria.

The same strain of listeria also sickened a pregnant woman, who then miscarried and a second woman also was sickened after drinking milk from the plant.

The dairy processing plant in Shrewsbury is 35 miles west of Boston in Massachusetts, and is owned by Whittier Farms.

While officials have yet to determine exactly how the milk was contaminated, one environmental swab, one skim milk sample and seven flavored milk samples tested positive for the same strain of listeria that is now being blamed for the outbreak that sickened people.

The milk appears to have been contaminated during the production process and could have been lurking somewhere within the machinery. Experienced microbiologists are currently on site to determine the cause of the outbreak and to find potential reservoirs of the deadly micro-organisms.

So far, no further cases have been reported and health officials maintain that the health risk to the public is low.

The processing plant distributes milk under various brand names to stores across central Massachusetts and also operates a 500-acre farm in the town of Sutton.

Officials say the plant has been closed since December and will remain so while investigations continue and the bacterium is completely eradicated.

Here’s what they say on their site:

“Whittier Farms Inc. was notified today by the Department of Public Health that a press release would be issued today informing the public that Whittier Farms Inc. is being linked to cases involving listeria. Whittier Farms is fully cooperating with this investigation and will continue to do so.”

Listeriosis is a type of food poisoning that can be particularly dangerous to the elderly, infants, pregnant women and people with low immune system such as those chronic medical conditions; the symptoms include fever, abdominal cramps, headache, stiffness, nausea and diarrhea.

Positive results for potentially deadly legionella bacteria have been found in routine monthly testing of cooling towers in Auckland’s central business district.

But the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) said today there was a low risk to people’s health.

ARPHS medical officer of health Kathy Pikholz said appropriate corrective action had been taken at the affected cooling towers with them being thoroughly cleaned, disinfected with chlorine, and re-tested.

Three people died from legionella in Christchurch during the winter of 2005.

The three deaths were part of an outbreak of 19 cases clustered in the southwest of the city.

Dr Pikholz said ARPHS was working closely with the Auckland City Council and Department of Labour to determine the extent of the problem, and whether other cooling towers in the CBD were affected.

“The risk that this could cause illness is small, and people should go about their usual business in the CBD,” she said.

ARPHS commended those building owners who had reported their results and taken prompt corrective action.

But Dr Pikholz warned that people should seek medical attention if they developed symptoms suggestive of legionellosis.

Symptoms include muscle aches, headache, tiredness, loss of appetite and coughing, followed by high fever, chills and occasionally diarrhoea.

In people with the milder form of legionellosis, called pontiac fever, there would be the flu-like symptoms but no pneumonia.

In the more severe form of legionellosis, called legionnaire’s disease, pneumonia would be present on clinical examination and on chest x-rays.

Legionellosis is not caught by drinking contaminated water, nor is it passed from one person to another. Generally it is caught by inhaling mists or spray from water that contains legionella bacteria.

Legionella bacteria are commonly found in the environment; however, only a small per centage of people exposed to the bacteria get sick.

Dr Pikholz said children or those in good health rarely got the illness, and up to 20 per cent of healthy adults had antibodies showing previous exposure to legionella bacteria.

But some adults with medical conditions may be vulnerable as well as older people, heavy smokers, people with chronic lung disease or conditions that lower immunity (such as diabetes, cancer or kidney failure) or were on immune suppressing drugs (such as high doses of steroids).

Auckland City Council acting chief executive John Duthie said the building owner where the legionella had first been discovered had moved quickly to have the cooling towers cleaned up.

“In the last 24 hours we have been advised that another building has tested with high levels of the bacteria,” Mr Duthie said.

“In both cases, we are advised, the buildings’ owners have informed their tenants.”

Mr Duthie said that the city council was advising all CBD building owners to take the precautionary step of testing for legionella.

“There are no reports of anyone having fallen ill with the diseases caused by legionella bacteria, but we ask that this testing be done before the next due date.

“Single isolated cases are ordinarily resolved with the assistance of the affected building owner,” he said.

“The reason for this public announcement is due to the second instance of this bacteria. The two buildings with high levels may be a coincidence, but the council and the ARPHS need the data to make a judgment as to whether or not there is cause for greater concern.”