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

Yesterday, an Idaho woman was added to the list of people who became ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections after eating ground beef produced by a Clackamas, Oregon meat producer and consumers were warned to check their freezers for potentially contaminated ground beef products. Illnesses associated with the outbreak have been reported in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

This morning, Alex Pulaski of the Oregonian reported that a Bend, Oregon, resident helped Oregon health officials determine the source of her E. coli illness and establish a link to the Washington and Idaho cases.

Amber Wark, one of the family members who had fallen ill, discovered a telling clue Saturday morning while taking it on herself to rummage through a dozen garbage bags in a trailer bed: packaging for 4 pounds of ground beef.

The wrappers led state epidemiologists, federal agricultural inspectors and Washington health authorities back to Interstate Meat Distributors Inc. in Clackamas, which had ground the meat that Wark bought July 29 at Safeway.
 

WAFF reported this morning that one of the victims of an E. coli outbreak traced back to Little Rosie's Mexican restaurant in Huntsville, Alabama, has died. The victim, whose name was not released, became ill with an E. coli infection in July, and developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication of E. coli infection.

The woman was one of the first to develop the E. coli bacteria in her bloodstream in July, and had spent the last several weeks in the hospital.

The family says the bacteria acted at least as a catalyst in their loved one's death. She passed away Wednesday morning.

The only common denominator among the cases health department officials could find was shredded lettuce served at Little Rosie's, a Mexican restaurant in Huntsville.

Health officials have not yet released information on whether they were able to identify a specific food served at Little Rosie's that was the source of the E. coli outbreak.
 

A lot has happened since the largest ground beef recall in U.S. history, including a significant decline in E. coli contamination and illnesses. Since 1996, E. coli cases have trended downward, but in 2004 and 2006, E. coli cases are back up.

In April, the United States Department of Agriculture began testing beef trimmings - the meat that goes into ground beef - for E. coli contamination.  The testing is done before trimmings leave the slaughterhouse to be processed at a grinding operation.

Packing plants also are encouraged to hold onto ground beef until E. coli tests are returned and are confirmed as positive, Raymond said, a process that could take a day. The USDA offers to cut back on some of its other inspections if plants agree to wait for results.

E. coli outbreaks traced back to ground beef continue to happen, but the significant decline in illnesses is a tribute to the industry's efforts to clean up.  The recent up-tick in E. coli cases traced to contaminated produce are cause for concern.  Like the beef industry, the produce industry must implement an effective industry-wide approach at curbing E. coli contamination to keep the number of cases - and outbreaks - down.
 

A 2003 study on the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in livestock at 29 county and 3 large state agricultural fairs in the United States found that E. coli O157:H7 could be isolated from 13.8 percent of beef cattle, 5.9 percent of dairy cattle, 3.6 percent of pigs, 5.2 percent of sheep, and 2.8 percent of goats. Over seven percent of pest fly pools also tested positive for E. coli O157:H7.

Legislation and the implementation of guidelines and regulations will greatly reduce the likelihood of zoonotic disease outbreaks in North Carolina, but most states have not yet enacted the same measures, and outbreaks will continue to happen.

Health officials in Glynn County, Georgia have confirmed that they are investigating three E. coli cases. So far this year, 15 E. coli cases have been reported in Georgia, including the three cases under investigation. All three of the Glynn County cases involve adults - one who remains hospitalized, and who who were hospitalized, but have been released.

"We're now waiting on results of more sophisticated testing to see if these three people were infected by the same source," said Saroyi Morris, environmental health director of the Coastal Health District.

They hope to receive those results early in the week.
 

A two-year-old Canadian boy and three-year-old Japanese girl died recently after becoming ill with E. coli infections and hemolytic uremic syndrome. The source of each child's illness is being investigated by public health officials.

The Canadian child became ill in June, and died just days after being hospitalized.  He was not part of an outbreak, and investigators are working to determine whether his illness can be associated with any other illnesses across Canada.

The Japanese child became ill at the end of July, and also died just days after her hospitalization.  Health officials have linked the girl's illness to a cluster of E. coli infections associated with the day care facility she attended, but have not yet announced whether the outbreak is foodborne or is from some other source.

Officials said they suspect all five were fed the same food at the school, but they are also investigating whether the source of infection was from outside the school.

Two children are still being treated at a hospital in the city for diarrhea and sore tummies.
 

Despite evidence that raw or unpasteurized milk carries health risks, growing numbers of consumers are skirting laws prohibiting the sale of unpasteurized milk through creative solutions called "cow sharing." In theory, the practice allows them to buy part of an animal and then, as a co-owner, acquire and drink its raw milk.

But some states are cracking down on these arrangements or tightening laws to prevent them. In Maryland, for example, where it has long been illegal to sell raw milk for public consumption, officials adopted emergency regulations in October to stop farmers from selling shares of livestock to consumers.

"We believe that it is a sham to circumvent the law," says Ted Elkin, deputy director of Maryland's Office of Food Protection and Consumer Health Services. A farmer has since sued to overturn the new regulation. The case remains in litigation.