Outbreak of Type E Botulism Associated with Home-cured Ham Consumption

Rosetti, F.; Castelli, Enrico; Labbé, Jorge H.; Funes, Raúl

doi:10.1006/anae.1999.0214

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Cases of human botulism type E have been associated with consumption of salted dried ham in France 36,44 and Argentina. 48 In those cases, it was suggested that sea salt used for the preparation of ham could have been the source of contamination. However, although C. botulinum type E has been found in water, human activities such as swimming and fishing during botulism outbreaks are usually not considered a risk to human health.…”

Section: Epidemiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In rainbow trout experimentally dosed per os with different doses of BoNT/E, the animals showed dorsal recumbence and opercular abduction, 43,44 similar to descriptions in the first experiment of oral exposure to BoNT in fish. 48 The same experimental setting induced progressive dark pigmentation that started as a faint 1–2-cm wide black band just caudal to the pectoral fins and progressively evolved caudally until almost the entire body became black. 55,56 Similar results were reported in a separate study with round gobies experimentally exposed to repeated low doses of BoNT/E.…”

Section: Pathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Botulism in fish: a review

Uzal,

Henderson,

Asin

2024

J VET Diagn Invest

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Published information about fish botulism is scant. We review here the current literature on fish botulism. Freshwater fish are susceptible to botulism. Only anecdotal evidence exists about possible botulism cases in saltwater fish. With only a few exceptions, the etiology of all cases of fish botulism reported is Clostridium botulinum type E, although fish are sensitive to, and may carry, various C. botulinum types. Clinical signs of botulism in fish include loss of equilibrium and motion, abducted opercula, open mouths, dark pigmentation, and head up/tail down orientation in which attempts to swim result in breaching the surface of the water. Dark pigmentation is thought to be associated with acetylcholine imbalance in botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT)-affected fish. Rarely, but similar to the situation in other animal species, fish can recover from botulism. Fish botulism can cause secondary outbreaks of the disease in birds, as botulism-affected fish stand out from normal fish, and are selectively preyed upon by fish-eating birds, which thus become intoxicated by the BoNT present in sick fish. The source of BoNT in fish has not been definitively confirmed. Fish may ingest C. botulinum spores that then germinate in their digestive tract, but the possibility that fish ingest preformed BoNT from the environment (e.g., dead fish, shellfish, insects) cannot be ruled out. The presumptive diagnosis of botulism in fish is established based on clinical signs, and as in other species, confirmation should be based on detection of BoNT in intestinal content, liver, and/or serum of affected fish.

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Section: Epidemiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Botulism in fish: a review

Uzal,

Henderson,

Asin

2024

J VET Diagn Invest

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“…Ready-to-eat (RTE) meats, including hams, have been implicated in a variety of human illnesses including botulism, staphylococcal endotoxin poisoning, and listeriosis (1,10,15). The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (13,14) has published compliance guidelines to help operators of small meat processing plants establish safe cooking and cooling procedures that ensure lethality of vegetative bacteria and prevent growth of spore-forming bacteria.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus Survival and Growth during Cooling of Hams Cured with Natural-Source Nitrite

Jian

Acuff

Waterman

et al. 2021

Journal of Food Protection

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Growing consumer desires for clean label, “natural” products drives more meat processors to cure meat products with natural sources of nitrate or nitrite such as celery juice powder (CJP). One particular challenge for these producers is to identify safe cooling rates in CJP-cured products where extended cooling could allow growth of pathogens. USDA FSIS recently added guidelines for stabilization of meat products cured using naturally occurring nitrites, based on control of Clostridium spp . Currently a gap exists in knowledge associated with safe cooling rates of naturally cured ham that prevent the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus that are potential post-lethality contaminants. The study aims to investigate the temperature profiles of naturally cured hams of typical sizes during refrigerator cooling and determine the survival behavior of S. aureus and L. monocytogenes on ham during these cooling periods. Whole (14 lbs / 6300 g), half (6 lbs / 2700 g) and quarter hams (3 lbs / 1400 g) were slowly cooked in Alkar Ò 1000 smokehouse until internal temperatures reached a minimum of 140 ° F / 60°C and were immediately transferred into walk-in cooler (38 ° F / 3.3°C). Cooling times for all sizes were within the requirements for cured products but not for uncured products. Worst-case scenarios of post-processing surface contamination were simulated by inoculating small, naturally cured ham samples with S. aureus or L. monocytogenes , which were cooled in controlled processes (130-45 ° F / 54.4-7.2 ° C in 720-900 min). B y the end of cooling, each inoculum had a small decrease of 0.5-0.6 log CFU/g. This study helps small processors identify if recommended concentrations of natural cure agents that prevent growth of Clostridium pathogens may also prevent growth of other pathogens during cooling, which aids small meat processors in production and quality control.

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“…Another outbreak of human botulism type E, including 6 persons, was described in Argentina. C. botulinum E strain was isolated from a home-cured ham, and it was speculated that the contamination could have occurred from the seasoning, possibly sea salt, since other products (sausage and bacon) from the same pig were not contaminated (30). Since strain 84-10 shows a different subtype and MLST profile from strains isolated from fish and marine animals (8,13,31), it could represent a particular C. botulinum variant adapted to a specific environment or a specific host, such as pigs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%