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Two saildrones participated in the Salinity Processes in the Upperocean Regional Study 2 (SPURS-2) field campaign at 10°N, 125°W, as part of their more than six-month Tropical Pacific Observing System (TPOS)-2020 pilot study in the eastern tropical Pacific. The two saildrones were launched from San Francisco, California, on September 1, 2017, and arrived at the SPURS-2 region on October 15, one week before R/V Revelle. Upon arrival at the SPURS-2 site, they each began a twoweek repeat pattern, sailing around the program's central moored surface buoy. The heavily instrumented Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) SPURS-2 buoy serves as a benchmark for validating the saildrone measurements for air-sea fluxes. The data collected by the WHOI buoy and the saildrones were found to be in reasonably good agreement. Although of short duration, these ship-saildrone-buoy comparisons are encouraging as they provide enhanced understanding of measurements by various platforms in a rapidly changing subsynoptic weather system. The saildrones were generally able to navigate the challenging Intertropical Convergence Zone, where winds are low and currents can be strong, demonstrating that the saildrone is an effective platform for observing a wide range of oceanographic variables important to airsea interaction studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summarizes the results of an investigation by the California Department of Health Services of an outbreak of Salmonella Kottbus in California and Arizona. How a number of the patients had eaten alfalfa sprouts produced at a single facility from a seed lot which had been imported from Australia; Editorial note from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

We investigated an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) infections linked to raw mung bean sprouts in 2000 with two case-control studies and reviewed six similar outbreaks that occurred in 2000-2002. All outbreaks were due to unusual phage types (PT) of SE and occurred in the United States (PT 33, 1, and 913), Canada (PT 11b and 913), and The Netherlands (PT 4b). PT 33 was in the spent irrigation water and a drain from one sprout grower. None of the growers disinfected seeds at recommended concentrations. Only two growers tested spent irrigation water; neither discarded the implicated seed lots after receiving a report of Salmonella contamination. We found no difference in the growth of SE and Salmonella Newport on mung beans. Mung bean sprout growers should disinfect seeds, test spent irrigation water, and discontinue the use of implicated seed lots when pathogens are found. Laboratories should report confirmed positive Salmonella results from sprout growers to public health authorities.

Fresh vegetables have become associated with outbreaks caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EcO157). Between 1995-2006, 22 produce outbreaks were documented in the United States, with nearly half traced to lettuce or spinach grown in California. Outbreaks between 2002 and 2006 induced investigations of possible sources of pre-harvest contamination on implicated farms in the Salinas and San Juan valleys of California, and a survey of the Salinas watershed. EcO157 was isolated at least once from 15 of 22 different watershed sites over a 19 month period. The incidence of EcO157 increased significantly when heavy rain caused an increased flow rate in the rivers. Approximately 1000 EcO157 isolates obtained from cultures of>100 individual samples were typed using Multi-Locus Variable-number-tandem-repeat Analysis (MLVA) to assist in identifying potential fate and transport of EcO157 in this region. A subset of these environmental isolates were typed by Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) in order to make comparisons with human clinical isolates associated with outbreak and sporadic illness. Recurrence of identical and closely related EcO157 strains from specific locations in the Salinas and San Juan valleys suggests that transport of the pathogen is usually restricted. In a preliminary study, EcO157 was detected in water at multiple locations in a low-flow creek only within 135 meters of a point source. However, possible transport up to 32 km was detected during periods of higher water flow associated with flooding. During the 2006 baby spinach outbreak investigation, transport was also detected where water was unlikely to be involved. These results indicate that contamination of the environment is a dynamic process involving multiple sources and methods of transport. Intensive studies of the sources, incidence, fate and transport of EcO157 near produce production are required to determine the mechanisms of pre-harvest contamination and potential risks for human illness.

We conducted a population-based telephone survey addressing farm-work-related (FWR) injuries among California farm operators. Of 1947 participants (80.4% response), 135 farm operators reported 160 FWR injuries in the preceding year, yielding a one-year cumulative incidence for any FWR injury of 6.9% (95% CI 5.8%-8.2%), or a mean 8.2 FWR injuries per 100 farmers in the preceding year (95% CI 6.8-9.7). Multiple injury events in the same individual occurred more frequently than predicted by chance. Sprains and strains (29.4%) were the most frequently reported injury and predominantly involved the back. Overexertion represented the most frequent external cause (24.2%), followed by machinery (14.3%), falls (13.0%), and animals (12.4%). Factors associated with FWR injury included white ethnicity (OR 3.19; 95% CI 1.38-7.36), increased annual hours worked on the farm, low levels of administrative work, and increased percentage of time working with livestock. FWR injury experience of California farm operators is comparable with that reported for other agricultural populations. Above-expected frequency of multiple injuries supports involvement of personal or environmental risk factors. Preventive efforts should focus on higher-risk groups and preventing overexertion and muscle strain and injury related to machinery, falls, and animals, especially livestock.

Raw sprouts have been implicated in a number of foodborne disease outbreaks. Because contaminated seeds are usually responsible, many sprout producers attempt to disinfect seeds before germination and detect sprout contamination during production. In March 2001, we detected an increased number of Salmonella serotype Kottbus isolates in California. Overall, we identified 31 cases from three western states. To identify the cause, we conducted a case-control study with the first 10 identified case-patients matched to 20 controls by age, sex, and residential area. Our case-control study found illness to be statistically associated with alfalfa sprout consumption. The traceback investigation implicated a single sprouter, where environmental studies yielded Salmonella Kottbus from ungerminated seeds and floor drains within the production facility. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns of all patient, seed, and floor drain Salmonella Kottbus isolates were indistinguishable. Most implicated sprouts were from seeds that underwent heat treatment and soaking with a 2,000-ppm sodium hypochlorite solution rather than the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-recommended 20,000-ppm calcium hypochlorite soak. Other implicated seeds had been soaked in a calcium hypochlorite solution that, when tested, measured only 11,000 ppm. The outbreak might have been averted when screening tests of sprout irrigation water detected Salmonella in January; however, confirmatory testing of these samples was negative (but testing improperly utilized refrigerated irrigation water). Producers should use the enrichment broth of positive screening samples, not refrigerated irrigation water, for confirmatory testing. Until other effective disinfection technologies are developed, producers should adhere to FDA recommendations for sprout seed disinfection.

Context: On January 5, 1999, the California Department of Health Services was notified of the repeated occurrence (December 21, 1998, and January 2, 1999) of gastrointestinal tract illness among patrons at a Thai restaurant in central California., Objective: To identify the source of the outbreak., Design: Case-control study; microbiological and toxicological laboratory testing of samples of food, stool, and vomitus., Setting: Thai food restaurant in central California., Participants: Patrons of the restaurant. A case (n = 107) was defined as dizziness, nausea, or vomiting occurring in a person who ate at the restaurant between December 20, 1998, and January 2, 1999, with onset of symptoms within 2 hours of eating. A control (n = 169) was a person who ate at the restaurant during the same period but reported no symptoms., Main Outcome Measures: Odds ratios (ORs) of illness associated with food exposures; ORs of shifts during which illness occurred associated with certain cooks; laboratory results., Results: The median latency period was 40 minutes from beginning eating to first symptom and was 2 hours to onset of diarrhea. The median duration of symptoms was 6 hours. Twenty-six persons (24%) visited the emergency department or were treated by a physician; no person required hospitalization. Patients reported nausea (95%), dizziness (72%), abdominal cramps (58%), headache (52%), vomiting (51%), chills (48%), and diarrhea (46%). Fifty-one cases (48%) included dizziness, lightheadedness, or a feeling of disequilibrium as the initial symptom. Illness was statistically associated with several foods and ingredients, but no single dish or ingredient explained a substantial number of cases. The analysis of food exposures included salt added by cooks, as estimated by using the amount of salt in the recipe for each dish and the amount of each dish eaten by respondents. This association was stronger with increasing levels of salt: ORs for illness among persons who consumed more than 0.42 to 0.84, more than 0.84 to 1.25, and more than 1.25 tsp of salt added to foods in the kitchen were 1.9 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.6-5.7), 3.0 (95% CI, 1.0-8.8), and 4.0 (95% CI, 1.3-13.5) compared with persons who consumed less than 0.42 tsp (P value for trend =.004). Methomyl, a highly toxic carbamate pesticide, was identified in a sample of vomitus (20 ppm) and in salt taken from containers in the storeroom (mean, 5600 ppm) and the stovetop (mean, 1425 ppm). The oral toxic dose causing illness in 50% of those exposed to methomyl was estimated to be 0.15 mg/kg of body weight (estimated range, 0.09-0.31 mg/kg of body weight). The presence of cook A was associated with shifts during which cases of illness occurred (OR, 10.4; 95% CI, 1.2-157.4)., Conclusion: This outbreak of gastrointestinal illness was associated with the consumption of food seasoned with methomyl-contaminated salt. To allow rapid assessment for further investigational and control measures by health officials, physicians should report suspected outbreaks of illness to public health departments, however trivial the symptoms or cause may seem.

Background: In California, from 1996 through 1998, more than 50% of multicounty outbreaks with confirmed food vehicles were related to alfalfa or clover sprouts., Objective: To summarize investigations of sprout-associated outbreaks., Design: Matched case-control studies., Setting: California., Patients: Outbreak-associated patients and matched population controls., Measurements: Matched odds ratios and 95% CIs; traceback and environmental investigations of sprout and seed growers; and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of isolates from patients, sprouts, and seeds., Results: Five sprout-associated outbreaks of salmonellosis and one outbreak of infection with nonmotile Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 occurred. Six hundred patients had culture-confirmed disease, and two died. It is estimated that these outbreaks caused 22 800 cases of gastrointestinal illness or urinary tract infection. In the case-control studies, odds ratios for the association between illness and alfalfa sprout consumption ranged from 5.0 to infinity (all were statistically significant). Three sprout growers were implicated, and each was associated with two outbreaks. Outbreak strains of Salmonella were isolated from sprouts supplied by two sprout growers and from seeds used by the third sprout grower., Conclusions: As currently produced, sprouts can be a hazardous food. Seeds can be contaminated before sprouting, and no method can eliminate all pathogens from seeds. Seed and sprout growers should implement measures to decrease contamination. The general public should recognize the risks of eating sprouts, and populations at high risk for complications from salmonellosis or E. coli O157 infection should avoid sprout consumption.

An outbreak of Salmonella serotype Thompson in California was identified through laboratory-based surveillance and investigated with case-control, traceback, and laboratory studies. There were 35 "sporadic" cases and a restaurant-associated outbreak of 41 cases with onset between 6 March and 31 March 1999. Three case patients were hospitalized. A case-control study found a significant association between illness and eating cilantro at a restaurant (63% of case patients vs. 34% of control subjects; odds ratio, 3.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-11.4). Although common distributors of cilantro were identified, inadequate records prohibited the identification of a single farm supplying cilantro. At room temperature, Salmonella Thompson grew more rapidly and to a higher concentration on chopped cilantro, compared with whole-leaf cilantro. Freshly made salsa (pH 3.4) supported growth of Salmonella Thompson. Cilantro should be served promptly after chopping. Accurate records of the distribution of produce should be available, and bacterial contamination of produce should be prevented in retail and wholesale establishments, in packing sheds, and on farms.

Objective: To determine a vehicle and point source for an outbreak of Salmonella Havana., Methods: The authors conducted a case-control study and traceback investigation of 14 residents of California and four from Arizona with onsets of illness from Apr 15, 1998, to June 15, 1998, and Salmonella Havana infections with identical PFGE patterns., Results: Seventeen of 18 patients were women. Seventeen were adults 20-89 years of age. Nine (50%) had diarrheal illness, 6 (33%) had urinary tract infections, 2 (11%) had sepsis, and one had an infected surgical wound after appendectomy. Four patients were hospitalized, and one died. Eating alfalfa sprouts was associated with S. Havana infection (OR = 10.0; 95% confidence interval 1.2, 83.1; P = 0.01)., Conclusions: This outbreak resulted in a high incidence of extra-intestinal infections, especially urinary tract infections, and high morbidity. Raw alfalfa sprouts, often considered a safe "heath food," can be a source of serious foodborne disease outbreaks.

An outbreak of Salmonella serogroup Saphra (S. saphra) infections was studied by laboratory-based surveillance, case-control and trace-back studies, and a survey of cantaloupe preparation practices. Twenty-four patients with S. saphra infections had illness onsets between 23 February and 15 May 1997; 75% were

Background: An outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections in Connecticut and Illinois during May 28 to June 27, 1996, was investigated to determine the source of infections., Methods: Independent case-control studies were performed in both states. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed on E. coli O157:H7 isolates. A case-patient was defined as a Connecticut or northern Illinois resident with diarrhea whose stool culture yielded E. coli O157:H7 of the outbreak-associated PFGE subtype. Controls were town-, age-, and sex-matched to case-patients. We traced implicated lettuce to the farm level and performed environmental investigations to identify unsafe lettuce production practices., Results: In Connecticut and Illinois, infection was associated with consumption of mesclun lettuce (Connecticut matched odds ratio [MOR], undefined; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.4 to infinity; and Illinois MOR, undefined; 95% CI, 1.4 to infinity). We traced implicated lettuce to a single grower-processor. Cattle, a known E. coli O157:H7 reservoir, were found near the lettuce fields. Escherichia coli (an indicator of fecal contamination) was cultured from wash water and finished lettuce. A trace-forward investigation identified 3 additional states that received implicated lettuce; E. coli O157:H7 isolates from patients in 1 of these states matched the outbreak-associated PFGE subtype., Conclusions: This multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections was associated with consumption of mesclun lettuce from a single producer. Molecular subtyping facilitated the epidemiological investigation. This investigation increased the knowledge about current production practices that may contribute to the contamination of lettuce by microbial pathogens. Lettuce production practices should be monitored for microbiological safety.

Baby bottle with popular soda pop and soft drink logos are on marked shelves. A descriptive study was conducted to determine their prevalence among families and to determine whether the logos could be influencing what families put in baby bottles. A convenience sample of 314 mothers (and grandmothers if they were primary caregivers) with children using baby bottles was interviewed in three California counties. The results were analyzed for significance, using the chi-square test for independence. The ethnicities and educational levels of the sample population matched the distribution of the State. Overall, 31 percent of the children drank either soda pop or Kool-Aid from baby bottles. Forty-six percent of the respondents owned a baby bottle with a soda pop logo and 17 percent owned a bottle with a Kool-Aid logo. Families who owned bottles with popular beverage logos were four times more likely to give children the respective beverage in bottles than families with "logo bottles." Populations most likely to drink these beverages were those in the black and Hispanic ethnic groups, in the youngest age-group (15-20 years of age), and those without a high school diploma. Health professionals are concerned that the logos could cause an increase in children's consumption of sweetened beverages in baby bottles and consequently an increase in Baby Bottle Tooth Decay and nutritional problems.