Totino's Pizza E. coli Outbreak
At least 21 people have become ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections after eating Totino's or Jeno's brand pizzas produced by General Mills, according to a USDA press release issued today. The victims of this most recent E. coli outbreak are from Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Consumers who have Totino's or Jeno's brand pizzas in their freezers that were produced before October 30, 2007, should not consume the pizzas.
E. coli O157:H7 infection is characterized by the sudden onset of abdominal pain and severe cramps, followed within 24 hours by diarrhea. As the disease progresses, the diarrhea becomes watery and then may become grossly bloody – bloody to the naked eye. Vomiting, and rarely fever, can also be symptoms. The incubation period for the illness (the period from ingestion of the bacterium to the start of symptoms) is typically three to nine days, although slightly shorter and longer periods are not that unusual. An incubation period of less than 24 hours would be unusual, however. In most infected individuals, the intestinal illness lasts about a week and resolves without any long-term problems.
Although most people recover from E. coli O157:H7 infection, about five to ten percent of infected individuals develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a severe, life-threatening complication of E. coli O157:H7 bacterial infection. HUS develops when E. coli’s toxins enter the circulation by binding to special receptors. During HUS, red blood cells are destroyed and cellular debris accumulates within the blood vessels while the body’s clot-breaking mechanisms are disrupted, causing blockage of the terminal arterioles and capillaries (microcirculation) of most of the major body organs, commonly the heart, brain, kidneys, pancreas and adrenals.
E. coli O157:H7 is responsible for over 90 percent of the cases of HUS that develop in North America. Some organs appear more susceptible than others to the damage caused by these toxins. These organs include the kidney, pancreas, and brain.
Some patients suffering from E. coli and HUS are diagnosed with Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP), a clinical syndrome defined by the presence of thrombocytopenia (low blood platelet counts) and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia. It is sometimes called “Adult HUS”.
Purchase Totinos pizza and been having diarehia,headaches,vomiting,fever,abdominal cramps
What should I do if we have already eaten the pizza? What is the treatment for E. coli? Should I contact my doctor? Is there anything I can do to prevent it at this point? Does E. coli respond to antibiotics?
Apparently the bar code# for Totinos pizza is 4280011400.
uhm, I ate a totinos pizza last night, this scares me, I have diarrhea, and i live in missouri, I bought the pizzas a couple days before the 30th. But no cramps, just abdominal pains and diarrhea. What should I do?
several people including myself who have eaten Totinos pizza this past week or so are now sick.
I live in Louisa, Virginia and am calling my doctor in the morning.
I have been buying Totino's pizzas frequently over the past two months and at some point all members of my family have eaten them. About two and a half weeks ago my husband was sick for a week. We had some for dinner on Halloween and I have been ill since Friday night.(11-2-07) I live in California. I just learned of the recall today so I'm going to the doctor. I actually still had the empty boxes in my garbage and all of them match the recall sku numbers...