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Campylobacteriosis outbreak linked to undercooked chicken livers
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An outbreak of campylobacteriosis in Ohio and Oregon in 2013-2014 was associated with undercooked chicken liver pâté, according to public health officials.
This is the second multistate campylobacteriosis outbreak linked to the consumption of undercooked chicken livers in the United States.
“Chicken livers and pâté should be considered inherently risky foods, given the methods by which they are routinely prepared,” Magdalena Kendall Scott, MPH, of the Oregon Public Health Division, and colleagues wrote in a recent MMWR.
In January 2014, the Ohio Department of Health identified two people with campylobacteriosis who had recently eaten chicken liver pâté at an Oregon restaurant. A few days later, two other people became ill after eating the same dish at a different Oregon restaurant. Cultures for three of these people were positive for Campylobacter jejuni.
Both restaurants purchased their livers from the same Washington state establishment, which noted that the food was washed with a chlorine solution before packaging. Washing does not make chicken livers safe for consumption, according to the researchers; they must be cooked to an internal temperature of 165° Fahrenheit.
Three of nine cultures from both restaurants and the supplier tested positive for C. jejuni.
Overall, there were three laboratory-confirmed and two presumptive cases of campylobacteriosis in this outbreak, according to the report.
Both restaurants voluntarily stopped serving chicken livers and the supplier stopped selling them, the researchers wrote.
A 2012 outbreak of C. jejuni in Vermont and other Northeastern states also was linked to undercooked chicken livers, according to the CDC.
“This report illustrates that follow-up of possible outbreaks identified by routine interviewing by health departments can identify sources of illnesses and result in control measures that protect public health,” the researchers concluded. – by Colleen Owens
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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