Romaine Lettuce Information
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 25 April 2018 09:33
Advice to Consumers, Restaurants, and Retailers
Information collected to date indicates that romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region could be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and could make people sick.
Advice to Restaurants and Retailers
- Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell any romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region. This includes whole heads and hearts of romaine, chopped romaine, and salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce.
- Restaurants and retailers should ask their suppliers about the source of their romaine lettuce.
Advice to Consumers
- Do not buy or eat romaine lettuce at a grocery store or restaurant unless you can confirm it is not romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region.
- Unless the source of the product is known, consumers anywhere in the United States who have any store-bought romaine lettuce at home should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick. This includes whole heads and hearts of romaine, chopped romaine, and salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce. If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.
- Product labels often do not identify growing regions; so, throw out any romaine lettuce if you’re uncertain about where it was grown.
- Wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators where romaine lettuce was stored. Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator.
- Take action if you have symptoms of an E. coli infection:
- Talk to your healthcare provider.
- Write down what you ate in the week before you started to get sick.
- Report your illness to the health department.
- Assist public health investigators by answering questions about your illness.
- Follow these general ways to prevent E. coli infection:
- Wash your hands. Wash hands after using the restroom or changing diapers, before and after preparing or eating food, and after contact with animals.
- Don’t prepare food or drink for others when you are sick.
- Cook meats thoroughly to kill harmful germs. Cook steaks and roasts to at least 145˚F and let rest for 3 minutes after you remove meat from the grill or stove. Cook ground beef and pork to at least 160˚F. Use a food thermometer to check the temperature of the meat.
- Don’t cross-contaminate food preparation areas. Thoroughly wash hands, counters, cutting boards, and utensils after they touch raw meat.
- Wash fruits and vegetables before eating, unless the package says the contents have been washed.
- Avoid raw milk, other unpasteurized dairy products, and unpasteurized juices.
WIC Recipes
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 24 April 2018 09:26
WIC Recipes
Veggie Fritrata
- 1 1/2 pound seasonal vegetables (life bell peppers)
- 2 medium onions
- 4 oz low fat shredded cheddar cheese
- 12 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
- 8 0z mushrooms
Optional:
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 350. Rinse and cut vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and fresh parsley. Bring large pot of water to a boil and add vegetables. Boil for 30 seconds. Drain vegetables. In large bowl whip eggs until blended. Add dried dill. Coat medium skillet with butter and heat over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Add mushrooms and vegetables. Cook for 5 more minutes. Coat 9 x 13 inch baking dish with butter. Layer ingredients in the following order, vegetable mixture, egg mixture, cheese, salt, and pepper. Bake for about 35 minutes. Garnish and serve.
Tuna Boats
- 2 large cucumbers
- 1 lemon
- 2 green onions
- 1 can tuna (5 oz)
- 1 can white beans (16 oz)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Rinse cucumbers. Peel off skin every ¼ inch. Cut lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Rinse and dry lemon, then zest it using a cheese grater. Cut lemon in half and squeeze for juice. Rinse and chop green onions. Drain tuna. Drain and rinse beans. Mash beans lightly with a fork and then mix with rest of the ingredients. Fill each half cucumber with ¼ of the mixture. Serve.
About
Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a special supplemental nutrition program which provides services to pregnant women, new mothers, infants and children up to their 5th birthday based on nutritional risk and income eligibility.
Use of Synthetic Cannabinoids Linked to Severe Bleeding in the US
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 10 April 2018 09:36
Use of Synthetic Cannabinoids Linked to Severe Bleeding in the US
JEFFERSON CITY, MO – The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Clinician Outreach message to health care providers related to the use of synthetic cannabinoids with street names such as synthetic marijuana, fake weed, K2 and spice. According to the message, 94 people in five states who used synthetic cannabinoids have been treated since March 10, 2018, for bleeding due to coagulopathy, a blood clotting disorder. The number of cases reported in the message include: 89 in Illinois, two in Indiana, one in Maryland, one in Missouri and one in Wisconsin. There were two fatalities in Illinois.
Laboratory testing confirmed that at least 18 individuals had been exposed to brodifacoum, a highly lethal vitamin K antagonist anticoagulant. It is used in commercial products for killing rodents and other pests. Some synthetic cannabinoid product samples related to the outbreak also tested positive for brodifacoum. Public health investigation indicates that synthetic cannabinoids were likely contaminated with brodifacoum.
Synthetic cannabinoids are classified as a controlled substance and their possession can lead to misdemeanor or felony charges depending on the amount possessed.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is asking healthcare providers to maintain a high index of suspicion for vitamin K–dependent antagonist coagulopathy in patients presenting with clinical signs of coagulopathy, bleeding unrelated to an injury, or bleeding without another explanation and with a possible history of use of synthetic cannabinoids.
For the full message from CDC please visit: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USCDC/bulletins/1e6dac3. Similar communications regarding drug induced severe coagulopathy have been issued by the Missouri Poison Center and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Those who may be suffering from adverse effects from the use of synthetic cannabinoids should seek medical care immediately. Health care professionals should report suspected cases to the Missouri Poison Control Center by calling 800-222-1222.
About the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: The department seeks to be the leader in protecting health and keeping people safe. More information about DHSS can be found at health.mo.gov.
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Tick season is upon us
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 10 April 2018 09:16
Tick season is upon us
Now that spring is here, Missouri Dept. of Health and Senior Services urges precaution against tick-borne illnesses
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo — With warmer weather on the way, the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (DHSS) wants to remind people living in and visiting the state to take precautions against tick bites. Ticks can transmit serious, potentially deadly, illnesses and they can be active anytime the ground isn’t frozen.
“As spring arrives, we are reminded what a beautiful state Missouri is and for those of us who enjoy the outdoors, it creates more opportunities to be outdoors exercising and enjoying the state’s natural beauty,” said DHSS Director Dr. Randall Williams. “For those of us in public health, this time of year serves as a transition from flu season to prime time for diseases carried by ticks.”
Missouri is home to a variety of tick species, meaning we experience a variety of tick-borne illnesses. In 2017, Missouri reported 634 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and 334 cases of ehrlichiosis. 60 percent of cases in the U.S. of Rocky Mountain spotted fever are in five states and Missouri is one of them. At least six different types of human tick-borne diseases have been reported in Missouri, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrilichiosis, tularemia, Lyme or lyme-like disease, Heartland Virus and Bourbon Virus. Many of these illnesses can be effectively treated if they are caught early, however, on occasion they can be deadly. That is why it is so important to practice prevention by using DEET or insect repellent and checking for ticks any time you go outdoors.
Ticks can be found throughout Missouri, primarily in wooded and brushy areas, tall grasses and close to the ground. Despite the presence of ticks, everyone can safely enjoy the outdoors by taking a few safety precautions.
“We encourage everyone to use precautions such as insect repellent and careful body checks after being outdoors to prevent these diseases whenever and wherever you are in Missouri,” said Williams. “While the incidence of these diseases is low throughout Missouri, the severity of illness can be high in some patients. So as always, prevention remains our best advice.”
DHSS recommends the following precautions to prevent tick bites:
- Use an insect repellent with a minimum of 20% DEET, picaridin or IR3535 on exposed skin for protection that lasts several hours whenever you spend time outdoors. DEET products should not be used on infants under two months of age.
- When possible, wear protective clothing (light colored, long sleeved shirts and pants) when outdoors to keep ticks off skin.
- Avoid tick infested areas including brushy areas, tall grasses, wood piles and leaf litter. When hiking, stay near the center of trails to avoid ticks.
- Reduce ticks around your home by keeping lawns mowed short, shrubs and trees trimmed, and remove leaf litter, wood piles, fallen branches, trash and debris from yards.
- People with pets should talk with their veterinarian about use of tick prevention treatments. You should regularly check your pet for ticks.
- Check for ticks while outdoors and again after returning from the outdoors. If possible you should change clothes and shower soon after spending time outdoors.
Preventing tick bites is the best way to avoid getting sick from any number of disease that ticks can carry. Just one bite from a tick can lead to serious illness. If you find an attached tick, don’t panic. The tick should be removed promptly. The longer it is attached the greater the risk of infection. To remove ticks:
- Using tweezers, grasp tick near its mouth and as close to your skin as possible.
- Pull tick firmly, straight out, away from skin. Do not jerk or twist the tick.
- Do NOT use alcohol, matches, liquid soap or petroleum jelly to remove a tick.
- Wash your hands and the bite site with soap and water after the tick is removed. Apply an antiseptic to the bite site.
Everyone should be aware of the signs and symptoms of tick-borne disease, which can vary among individuals and differ according to the disease. In general, a sudden high fever, severe headache, muscle or joint aches, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea can be signs of tick-borne disease. You should consult your health care provider if experiencing these symptoms. If these symptoms occur following a tick bite, or even after exposure to a tick habitat, be sure to tell your health care provider. Another possible sign of tick-borne disease is a rash or pus-filled wound that appears at the site of a tick bite, or a spreading rash that follows a tick bite or exposure to tick habitat.
About the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services:
The department seeks to be the leader in protecting health and keeping people safe. More information about DHSS can be found at health.mo.gov.
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