Kentucky

  • 44 sick in Kentucky Salmonella outbreak

    Posted: August 16th, 2012 - 2:10pm by Doug Powell

    Why is this just being made public now?

    Maybe it has been public and slipped my mind.

    WSAZ reports that nine cases of Salmonella have been confirmed in Olive Hill, Ky., and at least four are part of a statewide outbreak sickening at least 44 people.

    People apparently started getting sick about July 11, and there have been no new cases of Salmonella reported since July 31.

    Two weeks later and the outbreak becomes public.

    A statewide investigation is underway to try to find the source of the cases. 

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  • Careful cleaning up barf: 242 sickened with norovirus at a boys' basketball tournament, Kentucky, Feb. 2012

    Posted: June 30th, 2012 - 3:42pm by Doug Powell

    Basketball would be more interesting with full body contact; although full vomiting counts.

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that on February 6, 2012, the Kentucky Department for Public Health was notified by a local health department of multiple cases of vomiting and diarrhea among participants in a statewide, 7th grade boys' basketball tournament that was held February 3–5.

    Among 52 participating teams, 49 (94%) teams (comprising 573 players) were contacted. Thirty-six teams (73%) reported at least one ill player. Sixty-two employees were identified who had worked at the tournament, and 46 (74%) were interviewed. A total of 242 persons with acute gastroenteritis were identified and interviewed, including 154 (27%) of the 573 players, 12 (26%) of the 46 employees, 11 coaches, and 65 spectators (the total numbers of coaches and spectators attending could not be determined). Nineteen (8%) persons with AGE had sought medical care, including two children who were hospitalized. Three persons from three separate teams had experienced illness onset before the tournament, and one had vomited courtside in a crowded gymnasium on the first night of the tournament. The vomitus was cleaned up by tournament attendees, and janitorial staff members were notified 3 days later. Symptom onset occurred among 196 (81%) ill persons on days 2 and 3 after the vomiting episode. No common food or water sources were identified as potential vehicles for transmission.

    Six stool specimens were collected from five players and one spectator; all tested positive for norovirus. Five were sent to CDC for sequencing, and results yielded the identical genogroup II type 7 (GII.7) strain, a relatively rare norovirus strain. These confirmed cases represented players or spectators from four different teams. The three persons who had arrived at the tournament with gastrointestinal symptoms were unable to provide stool specimens for norovirus testing. However, three of the six confirmed stool specimens came from participants who had played on the court where the vomiting episode occurred.

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  • Young brothers hospitalized with E. coli in Kentucky

    Posted: May 18th, 2012 - 6:51am by Doug Powell

    The 1- and 2-year-old grandsons of Ray and Stephanie Bogucki have been in Children's Hospital in Cincinnati, Kentucky, since Monday, suffering from what appears to be a shiga-toxin producing E. coli.

    Ray Bogucki told The Ledger Independent on Thursday, "It is important people know this can happen. …

    “The 1-year-old is showing signs of improvement. He has received two units of blood and seems to be getting better. The 2-year-old is on his third unit of blood and has had dialysis treatment. His blood pressure was high and he is being treated for that.”

    The strain Bogucki's grandchildren have is the type attributed to cattle, which could also be related to vegetables grown where cattle manure is used as fertilizer, he said.

    “That was what confused us at first, because the 1-year-old is still eating baby food and not any meat,” Bogucki said. ”But the doctors said it can come from anywhere, even a petting zoo. They are farm kids, petting cattle and being around them.”

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  • Norovirus sickens hundreds of competing cloggers in Kentucky

    Posted: August 20th, 2011 - 8:21pm by Doug Powell

    Hundreds of dancers, coaches and spectators came down with norovirus following last weekend's clogging competition at the Morehead Conference Center near Lexington, Kentucky.

    WKYT reports the best way to prevent spreading the virus is to wash hands and clean with diluted bleach.

     

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  • Burger King employee diagnosed with hepatitis A

    Posted: November 23rd, 2010 - 12:57pm by Doug Powell

    There’s been a few cases of hepatitis A showing up in the Ashland, Kentucky area over the past few days.

    Today, investigators think they’ve indentified the source: a food service worker at Burger King who had to not only test positive, but have poop on his hands to transmit the virus.

    WSAZ reports the Ashland-Boyd County Health Department has confirmed the employee worked the drive-thru window during the week of November 7 and the dates of November 15 and 17. The employee’s contact with patrons was limited to the drive-thru window, so patrons who ate inside the restaurant were not at risk of exposure. Since the employee was not involved in food preparation, the risk of becoming ill is low.

    The employee was a close contact of a previously identified case of Hepatitis A.

    So far all of the cases in Boyd County are linked to close contacts of earlier cases. No cases associated only with consuming food items from the restaurant have been identified as of Tuesday, November 23.
     

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  • Children abandoned at Kentucky Chuck E. Cheese

    Posted: July 28th, 2010 - 12:36pm by Doug Powell

    People go crazy at them Chuck E. Cheese restaurants.

    In 2007 an outbreak of foodborne illness, leading to 4 hospitalizations, was linked to an employee changing the diaper of a diarrhea-stricken toddler in the kitchen of a Maryland Chuck E. Cheese.

    WPSD Local 6 reports that now, two women have pleaded guilty to leaving their kids alone at a Chuck E. Cheese in Paducah, Kentucky while they went shopping.

    Marilyn Thomas and Kimberly Cali left a 3-year-old and a 9-year-old at Chuck E. Cheese for an hour and a half while they went shopping.

    One of the children was Cali's daughter. The other was her niece. Thomas was the children's grandmother.

    They spent four hours in jail for the crime, and owe $200 in fines and $210 each in court costs.
     

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  • 30 sick with Shigella in Daviess Co., Kentucky

    Posted: May 13th, 2010 - 8:06am by Doug Powell

    News25 reports the Green River District Health Department is confirming 30 cases of the bacteria illness called Shigella in Daviess County. Now, the Kentucky Department of Public Health is getting involved.

    "We haven't seen anything like this in a while," said GRDHD Regional Epidemiologist Janie Cambron.

    NEWS 25 was the first to report health officials were investigating cases of Shigella in Daviess County. Since last Thursday, the number of confirmed cases jumped from 15 to 30. Health officials say none however stem from this past weekend's Bar-B-Q fest where extra hand sanitizer were distributed.

    Two other counties in the state are also reporting high numbers of Shigella. Prompting the state to become part of the investigation.

    Of the 30 confirmed cases in Daviess County, 27 are with kids ages 13 and younger. Cambron says she's talked with many concerned parents asking if their kids should stay home. If they attend a childcare center, they must be symptom free for 24 hours before returning.

    Wash hands.

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