Articles Tagged with ''outbreak investigations''

WHO assessed the overall public health risk as “moderate,” citing the vulnerability of infants, uncertainty around the extent of contamination, and gaps in surveillance and traceability.

The products have been recalled, but have a long shelf life. FDA previously reported working with the manufacturers to determine the root cause of contamination, but has not shared an update at the time of the investigation’s close.

The agency’s Office of Coordinated Outbreak Response, Evaluation, and Emergency Preparedness (CORE+EP) evaluated 72 incidents, initiated 26 response investigations, and issued ten public health advisories in 2024.

A total of seven patients—four of whom are three years of age or younger—have been sickened in three states. Epidemiologic evidence indicates that RAW FARM-brand unpasteurized cheddar cheese products are the likely vehicle of illness, but product testing is ongoing.

The agency has published a summary of foodborne illness outbreak investigations involving USDA-regulated products in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, alongside an after-action review of a fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to Yu Shang-brand ready-to-eat (RTE) meats that was solved in 2024.

Ready-to-eat (RTE) pâté en croute contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and produced by Drôme Ardèche Tradition has sickened 12 people across France, resulting in two deaths. All patients were hospitalized.

Marking the country’s first use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) in an active foodborne illness outbreak investigation, advanced genomics enabled Moldovan authorities to rapidly solve and respond to a salmonellosis outbreak that sickened more than 140 people in 2025.

Despite having Listeria-positive samples that matched the outbreak strain via whole genome sequencing (WGS), which prompted an FDA Import Alert and a company recall for the suspected vehicle of illness, FDA did not disclose the specific product or any of the firms implicated.

FDA has declared the outbreak over with 48 confirmed and probable cases of illness. A root-cause investigation is still ongoing. FDA has also announced new “Operation Stork Speed” infant formula resources for families.

The STEC O26:H11 outbreak sickened 40 people and resulted in 19 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in children. Dried fruit was the probable vehicle of illness. Researchers underlined the importance of a weight-of-evidence approach in the outbreak investigation.