New Jersey Cholera Cases Tied to Illegal Food Import

The largest food-borne cholera outbreak to appear in this country since the beginning of a massive epidemic in South America was confirmed by New Jersey state health officials Tuesday.

Eight people, from the cities of Jersey City and West New York, became ill earlier this month after consuming illegally imported crab meat from Ecuador. Four were later diagnosed as suffering from cholera, a potentially fatal disease whose symptoms include severe diarrhea and vomiting leading to dehydration.

All the victims recovered but news that cholera was transported from South America to the United States “surprised” those familiar with the case.

The suspect crab meat was cooked in Ecuador, illegally transported in a plastic bag on a plane without refrigeration by one of the victims and served in a salad without recooking, according to health officials.

“(The crab) was considered grossly mishandled,” said Darlene Weiner, speaking for the New Jersey Department of Health in Trenton. “It was an isolated and contained incident. . . . The sanitation in New Jersey is adequate enough to make the risk of secondary transmission (from infected individuals to others) extremely small. And it is safe to eat commercial seafood in New Jersey.”

Even so, the New Jersey episode is the third in this country linked to the worsening South American cholera epidemic, which originated in Peru 10 weeks ago and has since spread to Ecuador and Colombia. To date, more than 150,000 people have contracted the disease and more than 1,000 have died in the coastal regions of those three countries, according to international health officials.

Inadequate sewer systems, contaminated water supplies and consumption of raw or undercooked foods, particularly fish and shellfish, each have contributed to the current epidemic.

Peru, Ecuador and Colombia all export food to the United States, including seafood and produce. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration now is sampling all Peruvian imports for Vibrio cholera, the bacteria responsible for the illnesses. However, only random samples are being taken from Ecuador, which is a major exporter of shrimp and bananas into this country.

“There is little or no risk of illness from commercial products (originating in the cholera zone),” said Chris Lecos, an FDA spokesman in Washington. “We have extensively sampled these foods. . . . Nothing (contaminated with cholera) is getting into the commercial arena.”

The Centers for Disease Control, in a recent report on the cholera epidemic, conceded that “a small number of U.S. residents may acquire the disease . . . by eating imported food.”

In confirming the recent outbreak, the New Jersey Department of Health also warned consumers against eating any illegally imported food from Peru, Colombia or Ecuador.

“Any non-commercial food from those areas should be considered contaminated,” said Weiner. “It is unwise to eat any illegally imported food but especially important to avoid non-commercial foods from disease-stricken areas.”

U.S. citizens returning from international travel must declare to customs agents any food in their possession. U.S. Department of Agriculture representatives then decide whether it is permissible to bring the items into the country.