Non-O157:H7 E. coli getting attention
Federal regulators will meet next week to discuss the incidence of E. coli outbreaks and illnesses that can be attributed to E. coli strains that produce Shiga-toxins, but are not E. coli O157:H7. The Wall Street Journal reported on the upcoming meeting today, explaining the need for better monitoring and surveillance for non-O157:H7 E. coli strains:
For years, only one strain -- E. coli 0157:H7 -- has been the focus of government oversight and has prompted massive nationwide food recalls. But evidence has been piling up in the past several years to show there are other forms of dangerous E. coli bacteria that may be just as deadly to humans.Food contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, can be the "cause of outbreaks of bloody diarrhea, often leading to severe and fatal illness."
While the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list just 501 cases of illness caused by these other dangerous E. coli bacteria in 2005, the number is probably much greater than that, USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Richard Raymond said.
The USDA press release regarding the meeting also states:
Currently only one strain, E. coli O157:H7 is considered an adulterant in meat. The CDC has reported an increase in the number of non-O157:H7 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infections from 2000 to 2005. Outbreaks from these organisms have been reported in the U.S. since 1990, and foodborne exposures have been suspected in many of these outbreaks.The purpose of the meeting is to solicit input from academia, consumers, other public health and regulatory agencies and industry on the issue of whether non-O157:H7 STECs should be considered to be adulterants as E. coli O157:H7.
Marler Clark is currently involved in litigation stemming from an E. coli outbreak that was caused by strain O121:H19 in foods served by a Wendy's restaurant in Utah.
