Logan County District Board of Health members received a detailed infectious disease update at their Wednesday afternoon meeting, Oct 8, regarding several illnesses in the county, including a case of listeria that was linked to a cluster outbreak being investigated by the Ohio Department of Health.
Logan County Health Commissioner Travis Irvan said testing in the local listeria case linked it to a cluster outbreak from nectarines and oranges purchased from Walmart. He noted that it’s unusual for Logan County to see a listeria case.
Listeria infection can be especially harmful for some people, including pregnant women, newborns, adults ages 65 or older and people with weakened immune systems, the CDC reports. Other people can be infected with listeria, but they rarely become seriously ill.
“Invasive” listeriosis means listeria bacteria have spread beyond the intestines (gut). Invasive listeriosis happens when listeria spreads beyond the intestines.
Symptoms of invasive illness usually start within two weeks after eating food contaminated with listeria. Symptoms typically include fever; flu-like symptoms, such as muscle aches and fatigue; headache; stiff neck; confusion; loss of balance; and seizures.
Several campylobacter cases also have been reported locally since August, Irvan said, noting most of the cases are environmental in origin and being in contact with animals.
Campylobacter can live in the intestines, liver and other organs of animals. Many chickens, cows and other animals carry campylobacter without becoming sick. Campylobacter can spread from these animals to people.
Touching animals or their food, water, feces, belongings (such as toys and bowls), or habitats (such as beds, cages, tanks, coops, stalls, and barns) can spread the infection to humans. The health commissioner noted that in one of the local cases, a child became sick after getting into a chicken coop.
Other ways that campylobacter can spread is through eating raw or undercooked poultry or other foods, including seafood, meat and produce; drinking untreated water; or preparing raw or lightly cooked foods, including salad and fruits, with knives or on cutting boards that were used with raw poultry, seafood, or meat.
In addition, two cryptosporidiosis cases were recently reported in Logan County, with the cases occurring in two siblings that had contact with dairy calves, Irvan said.
Cryptosporidiosis is a diarrhea-causing disease that is spread through germs that live in the feces of infected people or animals, the CDC reports. When a person swallows cryptosporidium, or “crypto” germs, they can become infected.
Symptoms of cryptosporidiosis generally begin two to 10 days (average seven days) after infection and last one to two weeks, according to https://www.cdc.gov. The most common symptom of cryptosporidiosis is watery diarrhea, but some people have no symptoms at all.
Most people with healthy immune systems will recover from cryptosporidiosis without treatment.
In addition, syphilis is on the rise in Logan County as well, with Irvan reporting that there have been five new cases reported during September.
Related to board organizational matters, Chris Watkins submitted her resignation for serving as board vice president. Members will vote on her replacement for the position at next month’s meeting, set for 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12.
During the environmental health report, the board passed on their second of three required reading the 2026 fee schedule for the environmental division, with most of the fees increasing based upon cost methodology reporting, Director Matt Stonerock said.
Members also approved the first of three readings for proposed water sample fee changes for 2026.
In administrative matters, the health commissioner reported on staff members’ utilization of tuition reimbursement provided by the Association of Ohio Health Commissioners for employment-related training and education. During the past two to three years, $14,000 was reimbursed to employees, with employees being able to receive a maximum of $5,000 per person.
“I’m glad we’ve had several staff members participate in this valuable opportunity,” Irvan said.
In other action, the board:
• approved the health district’s new classified plan for the agency’s table of organization;
• issued an order to Alejandro Meza, 11851 State Route 117, Belle Center, who has a large accumulation of solid waste in the yard and under a carport, to correct the violation by removing the solid waste from the premises to a license disposal facility within seven days;
• approved a well variance request for Rick Stanley for his property at 10729 State Route 366, Lakeview;
• heard an update from Stonerock regarding a nuisance complaint for Nancy Niebuer’s property at 9614 Cottage Grove Ave., Lakeview, whose property contains a large accumulation of solid waste and debris, animal feces and urine inside the house creating foul odors, and cockroaches inside the house; multiple neighbors to the property attended the August board of health meeting to voice their ongoing concerns; Niebuer was served an order Aug. 22 to remove the solid waste and animal waste to a licensed disposal facility within 30 days and to contract with a professional pest control company; however, a re-inspection Sept. 22 showed no improvement to the property; as a result, the case will be filed with the Bellefontaine Municipal Court.
