E. coli Blog - Surveillance & analysis on e. coli news & outbreaks

Health officials have identified two additional people who tested positive for E. coli and may be part of the recent outbreak traced to private gatherings held in the Fresno area.

Investigators are tracking down everyone who attended three private parties where tainted food might have been served.

Officials need to know what the people ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past week, said David Luchini, division manager of communicable diseases for the Fresno County Community Health Department. He did not have an estimate on how long the interviews would take.

E. coli O157:H7 can cause a complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS.  HUS occurs in 5-10 percent of E. coli patients, and can cause damage to the kidneys, brain, pancreas, and central nervous system.
 

The Fresno County Health Department and Fresno County Environmental Health are looking into whether the Meat Market is the source of the E. coli outbreak that has sickened as many as 20 people so far.

The grill at the popular Meat Market in north Fresno was shut down for about an hour while county health inspectors checked the facility. Tim Casagrande, Fresno County Environmental Health says, "Our staff's gonna be looking at essentially food handling, critical points, temperatures."

 

With Memorial Day being the official start of grilling season, the International Food Safety Network highlights the importance of cooking foods to an internal temperature hot enough to kill pathogens like E. coli and salmonella.

Dangerous microorganisms like E. coli and salmonella cannot be sensed by sight, and will happily contaminate good cuts of meat as well as bad ones.

A salad could be one of the riskiest foods on American tables right now, according to New York Times Op/Ed columnist Paul Krugman.

As he puts it,

These are anxious days at the lunch table. For all you know, there may be E. coli on your spinach, salmonella in your peanut butter and melamine in your pet’s food and, because it was in the feed, in your chicken sandwich.

Marler Clark clients Michael and Elizabeth Armstrong and their two daughters, Isabella and Ashley, experienced the repercussions of eating what has been deemed a "risky" food in September, when the daughters became ill from E. coli-contaminated spinach. Ashley nearly died from a complication of E. coli infection known as hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Although Ashley is home now and doing well, she remained on dialysis until December. She must take six medicines daily and has only about 25 percent kidney function. Eventually, she will need a kidney transplant, doctors say.
 

A settlement has been announced involving lawsuits filed against the Florida Strawberry Festival.

Health officials traced the 2005 E. coli outbreak to a petting zoo owned by Plant City-based Ag-Venture Farms, which had brought more than a dozen goats, sheep, cows and chickens to the Florida Strawberry Festival, the Florida State Fair in Tampa and the Central Florida Fair in Orlando.

About 50 people from six counties were sickened at the three events, and 15 filed lawsuits against the petting zoo, according to the Tampa Tribune. Those claims were resolved last year when the 15 victims shared a $1 million settlement from an insurance company representing the petting zoo.

Other suits are pending against the state fair and Central Florida Fair.
 

Two victims of the 2005 E. coli outbreak traced to a petting zoo at the Florida Strawberry Festival have resolved claims brought against the festival last week.

Both victims, a woman and a young child, suffered hemolytic uremic syndrome and required extensive medical treatment, including dialysis, after contracting E. coli O157:H7 at the 2005 Florida Strawberry Festival.

The 2005 Florida E. coli outbreak was the 16th documented outbreak traced to animal exposure at a fair or petting zoo since 2000, including a widely publicized E. coli outbreak in North Carolina that occurred just months before.
 

Minnesota state health and agriculture officials are investigating seven cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection in residents associated with eating ground beef purchased from Lunds or Byerly's stores.

The cases include two children and five adults. Three of the cases were hospitalized, but all have been discharged.  Marler Clark has been contacted by victims of this outbreak.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, “The stores currently involved include Byerly’s St. Louis Park, Byerly’s Minnetonka, Byerly’s Chanhassen and Lunds Edina. However, we can’t be certain that meat from other stores is not involved, since all of the beef used for ground beef for Lunds and Byerly’s stores comes from a single processing facility,” said Heidi Kassenborg, Acting Director of the Dairy and Food Inspection Division of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Ground beef that was purchased after April 7 from a Lunds or Byerly’s store, whether still in the refrigerator or freezer, should not be used, but should be discarded or returned to the store, officials said.
 

The Kern County Health Department issued a press release today stating that the investigation into an E. coli outbreak among several Bakersfield, California-area resident had been traced.

Early speculation about the source of the outbreak indicated that health officials were investigating potential exposure to the E. coli bacterium at a restaurant; however, the press release shows that health officials have pinpointed the exposure as happening at a water slide event.

One child is still hospitalized in fair condition, according to an article from the Bakersfield Californian.
 

The family of Ashley and Isabella Armstrong, 2 girls affected by E. coli infection from contaminated spinach, told the Herald Journal that one thing they would like to see come out of their ordeal and those of anyone affected by foodborne illness from contaminated food is more stringent government regulations on food safety.

Although Isabella recovered quickly from the infection, her sister Ashley suffered from hemolytic uremic syndrome and kidney failure. As a result, she had to endure blood transfusions and dialysis.

In response to the spate of recalls over the past year - from spinach to peanut butter to pet food - the House Committee on Energy and Commerce last month addressed food safety at its Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing.

California health officials continue their investigation into an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least a dozen people in the Bakersfield, California, area.

A common thread is a restaurant in Bakersfield, but the Kern County Health Department will not reveal its location. Health officials continued to say there is no immediate threat to the public and that is why the health department will not officially name the pizzeria.

Two of the hospitalized children have been released, and two developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome -- a condition marked by kidney failure and seen in serious foodborne illnesses -- and were transferred to hospitals outside Kern County.
 

The meat was sold under a store label at the Edina Lunds, and Byerly's stores in Minnetonka, Chanhassen and St. Louis Park, according to the health department.

Five adults and two children were among those sickened. Three were treated at area hospitals. The infections were reported between April 21 and April 28, according to the health department.

State health officials added that any ground beef purchased at the stores since April 7 should be thrown out or returned to the store.

As a precautionary measure, Lunds and Byerly’s have voluntarily removed many varieties of ground beef from all of their stores and are cooperating fully with the investigation.

Lunds and Byerly’s customers are urged to return or destroy fresh ground beef purchased at any of their stores since April 7, 2007. This includes ground beef purchased fresh then frozen at home. It includes fresh beef patties, fresh or frozen meatloaf and ground chili meat. Customers should return the ground beef to any Lunds or Byerly’s immediately for a full refund. (A receipt is not required.)

After an E. coli outbreak that sickened at least three children, St. Helena Little League will no longer serve hamburgers at concession stands during games.

The Napa Valley Register reported that Jim Gamble, president of St. Helena Little League, said the organization's snack shacks now serve only pre-packaged and pre-cooked food. "The resolution was passed in early April. ... (The children's infection) was an isolated incident and we received contaminated beef. Unfortunately, these children got sick from it. We're all very grateful they've fully recovered. It was scary."

Gamble said the three confirmed reports of E. coli were in children between the ages of 8 and 12.
 

A vaccine is being produced by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that is designed to prevent E. coli infection in humans, according to the New York Times. A vaccine is also being produced by Bionishe, a Canadian company, that is designed to reduce the number of E. coli bacteria shed in cattle feces.

Although vaccines produced by NIH and Bioniche may prove effective in their purposes, it may prove to be cost-prohibitive for the general public and the meat industry to adopt widespread use of either vaccine.  Beyond that, experts in the food safety field are skeptical about whether vaccines are the most effective solution to the problem of E. coli contamination.  And bacteriophages, which are an alternative to vaccines, are not touted as the answer by food safety experts, either.

Researchers at Washington State University and the University of Idaho have combined their efforts to develop a fresh produce wash - termed FIT - that is more effective in killing E. coli and other pathogenic contamination on fresh fruits and vegetables.

Currently most produce is washed in a chlorine source, either from bleach or from chlorine dioxide. However, these chemical compounds quickly deactivate and become ineffective in very dirty water, such as a potato or spinach flume. FIT's commercial produce wash helps overcome that problem when washing fresh cut and other processed produce. The ingredients in FIT, specifically its natural surfactants, act as "wetting agents" which are designed to lift off and kill the pathogens even in very dirty water. FIT is able to get into "nooks and crannies" that other washing systems may not and continues to keep killing bacteria via its patented surfactant technology.