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

The USDA is proposing that they ask the public about whether the leafy green industry should be further regulated.

More regulation is the USDA's response to several E. coli outbreaks that have been the result of consumption of contaminated produce.

One option is a national version of the industry-developed standards that followed the E. coli outbreak and now govern California farmers and leafy green handlers. The USDA is considering both voluntary and mandatory standards, officials say, but favors a voluntary program that allows flexibility.

California and Arizona leafy greens producers have already signed marketing agreements that were designed to encourage good manufacturing practices across their industry, and the United Fresh Produce Association has asked the government to step in and regulate farming and processing practices for leafy greens.
 

Sharon Smith, the mother of Stephanie Smith, a Minnesota resident who has been hospitalized for months after eating a hamburger and becoming ill with E. coli poisoning, spoke with Kirsti Marohn of the St. Cloud Times for an article that appeared in today's paper.  She shared the story of the few days before Stephanie became ill with symptoms of E. coli infection, and of her hospitalization. 

The 20-year-old dance instructor has undergone intensive medical treatment while doctors work to support her body.  Five days after becoming ill, Stephanie was hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome and was placed in a coma when she began having seizures.  As Kristi Marohn wrote:

Two months later, she remains in critical condition at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, fighting for her life against a severe case of E. coli poisoning.

Doctors have told Sharon that Stephanie remains extremely critical. She was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, caused when E. coli toxins enter the bloodstream.

The severity of her case is very rare, similar to only a handful of others worldwide. Still, Sharon hasn’t given up hope that her only daughter, with her wide smile and warm personality, will pull through.

There are hopeful signs. Stephanie’s kidneys have started functioning again, and she no longer needs dialysis. But there are setbacks, too. Her tongue has swelled so doctors have had to prop her mouth open and put an oxygen mask on her. So far, attempts to lower the coma-inducing drugs have resulted in more seizures. She continues to breathe with the help of a respirator.

Stephanie's is one of the most severe E. coli cases reported on in recent years, but she is not alone.  Other E. coli victims from outbreaks this fall have also been hospitalized for lengthy periods - at least one other in a coma. 

In September, an E. coli outbreak among students at Galena Elementary School perplexed health officials.  Several children became ill with E. coli and a source of the outbreak was elusive.  The sibling of two students at Galena Elementary battled an E. coli infection during the outbreak, and continues to recover after being on dialysis.  His mother has been hospitalized since she became ill with E. coli over 52 days ago. 

WAVE3 TV out of St. Louis, Missouri, reported the story of Amelia Seraiah's E. coli illness and hospitalization last night:

A Floyd County woman watched her son battle a deadly strain of E. coli back in September. Now she's hospitalized with the same illness. But her health isn't the only problem the single mother of five is facing.

It was 52 days ago -- on September 30th -- when Amelia Seraiah came down with the deadly bacteria. Her children are now staying with family members, who say they just pray she makes a full recovery.

Sharon Peltier has a lot to be thankful for this week. Her 3-year-old grandson, William, is off dialysis and doing better. He spent 17 days last month in Kosair Children's Hospital. Now Peltier's daughter (William's mother) is in Norton Hospital, fighting the same illness: E. coli.

Amelia isn't the only person battling an E. coli infection who will spend Thanksgiving in the hospital.  7-year-old Jayden Moss, of Willard, Utah, is expected to remain hospitalized until February.  He became ill with an E. coli infection earlier this fall and has suffered brain damage due to neurological involvement of HUS.  According to KSL.com:

Jayden is now at the learning level of an infant after developing Hemalitic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) from E. coli.

"He started throwing up and diarrhea," his mother, Rachael, said.

It eventually shut down his kidneys, and blood vessels in his body began bursting, causing severe brain damage. "Right now he doesn't walk, doesn't talk, he doesn't eat on his own, he's fed by a machine," Jayden's father, Jeremiah, explained.

According to the KSL story, Jayden's first-grade classmates have raised $6,500 to help his family pay their medical bills.

In an editorial titled, "Is the meat you buy safe enough?" that appears online at the Eco-Logic Powerhouse website, Henry Lamb evaluates the state of the meat industry and USDA's role in it, including the recent E. coli outbreaks linked to meat produced at Topps and Cargill.

In the editorial, Mr. Lamb analyzes what in his view is the inadequacy of the current USDA inspection system and discusses USDA's current efforts to implement an animal tracking system - which he believes is completely unnecessary.

Mr. Lamb addressed the argument that irradiation will make food safer, and suggests that if food irradiation is implemented, there will be less pressure on slaughterhouses to prevent contamination.
 

Five-year-old Aubrey Anderson is undergoing dialysis treatments at a Wichita hospital to combat the effects of hemolytic uremic syndrome secondary to E. coli infection. The child has been hospitalized for 18 days.

Aubrey remains on a feeding tube, which goes down through her nose and bypasses her stomach into her intestines. She continues to frequently vomit, however, which displaces the feeding tube.

A loophole in the food safety system allows E. coli-contaminated ground beef to become part of pre-cooked products destined for the frozen foods section at grocery stores and school lunches through the USDA's National School Lunch Program, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors believe that the amount of E. coli contamination in ground beef products has not declined nearly as much as has been touted in the last several years.

If a company tests ground beef, and it is positive for E. coli and shifted to a "cook only" line, USDA testing is apparently not performed on the product.

After ConAgra recalled 19 million pounds of ground beef for E. coli contamination in 2002, the company planned to "recycle" the ground beef it recovered by using it in canned chili products and pet food. After consumers learned of ConAgra’s plan, the company ultimately announced that it was destroying the ground beef instead of re-using it.
 

Ground beef patties produced by Topps Meat Company that were recalled for possible E. coli contamination in September are still on store shelves.

Over the past few weeks, 141 boxes of Topps burgers have been found at 12 stores, all in northern New Jersey except for one in Gloucester City in Camden County, according to the state Division of Consumer Affairs.

At least six people in New York had become ill with E. coli infections after eating Topps Meats' ground beef, and the investigation into these illnesses by the New York Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was what led to the resulting recall.

Topps Meat Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, recalled 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground beef products that may have been contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The CDC announced that 38 confirmed illnesses had been tied to the outbreak in 9 states: Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
 

Marler Clark has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Knoxville, Tennessee, residents Jim and Georgia McDonald and their two children, who both became ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections and were hospitalized after eating hamburgers made from Cargill ground beef patties.

Four-year-old John McDonald was seen in the emergency room, where he was treated for dehydration and released. The next day, he was taken by ambulance to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, and was admitted. While hospitalized, John developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, pancreatitis, compromised liver function, and bowel necrosis.

He was later transferred to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for dialysis, and on October 16th underwent surgery to have part of his bowel removed. After nearly a month’s hospitalization, John was discharged from the hospital, but has not yet fully recovered from his E. coli infection and the following complications.

One-year-old Michaela McDonald fell ill with symptoms of E. coli infection about a day after John, and was treated for dehydration at the emergency room. Michaela was then admitted to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. When her brother was transferred to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, Michaela was also transferred. She remained hospitalized for over a week.
 

Cargill Meat Solutions is voluntarily recalling approximately 1,084,384 pounds of ground beef produced at its Wyalusing, Pa., Cargill Regional Beef facility because of the possible presence of E. coli O157:H7.

Cargill learned of the possibility of contamination after the U.S. Department of Agriculture returned a confirmed positive on a sample of product.

Products subject to recall include:

• Century Farm Ground Beef
• Giant Ground Beef
• Giant Eagle Ground Beef Patties
• Shop Rite Ground Beef
• Stop & Shop Ground Beef
• Wegmans Ground Beef Patties
• Weis Premium Meats Ground Beef
• Price Rite Ground Beef

E. coli cases in Iowa and New York have surfaced. In Iowa, three children have tested positive for E. coli infection in the last few weeks. Two of the children attend the same daycare center, and an investigation into the cases is ongoing.

Polk County Health Department experts said they have connected at least two cases, but have not found the source.

In New York, one child from Niagara County was recently diagnosed with E. coli. The student in the Wilson Central School District is now back in school after recovering completely from the illness. The public health department is still investigating the source of the child's illness.