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

On December 24, 2009, FSIS issued a notice about a recall of 248,000 pounds of beef products from National Steak and Poultry that “may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.” The recall was issued after FSIS determined there was an association between non-intact steaks (blade-tenderized prior to further processing) and illnesses in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington. The CDC has said that at least “some” of the illnesses appear to be associated with products subject to the FSIS recall. Rumor has it that a state (Minnesota, perhaps?) has ill people who ate hamburger, not blade-tenderized steaks.

The Outbreak linked (apparently, in part) to blade-tenderized steaks from National Steak and Poultry has sickened 21 people from 16 states. Most victims became ill between mid-October and late November 2009. They ranged in age from 14 to 87 years. There have been 9 reported hospitalizations and 1 case of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

That begs the question, why the silence of the steaks? Where did the National Steak and Poultry get the steaks? Where did the Minnesota hamburger (or trim) come from? Rumors are that it is from a Colorado facility (JBS Swift, perhaps?) that has seen its share of E. coli O157:H7 problems in the past. So, again why the silence of the steaks?

Nestle USA's Baking Division announced last week that it will begin using heat-treated flour in the manufacture of its Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough. On January 11, 2010 Nestle informed the FDA that two samples of Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough manufactured at its Danville, Virginia facility did not pass this rigorous protocol, and had tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. Consistent with our quality assurance protocol, the finished product involved never left our factory or entered the supply chain, and none was shipped to customers.

Nearly seven months earlier,on June 18, 2009, the CDC announced that 65 persons infected with a strain of E. coli O157:H7 with a particular DNA fingerprint have been reported from 29 states. Of these, 23 have been confirmed by an advanced DNA test as having the outbreak strain; these confirmatory test results are pending on the others. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arkansas (1), Arizona (2), California (2), Colorado (5), Delaware (1), Hawaii (1), Iowa (2), Illinois (5), Kentucky (1), Massachusetts (4), Maryland (2), Maine (3), Minnesota (5), Missouri (2), Montana (1), North Carolina (1), New Hampshire (2), New Jersey (1), Nevada (2), Ohio (4), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (1), Texas (3), Utah (2), Virginia (2), Washington (5), and Wisconsin (1).

Ill persons range in age from 2 to 57 years; however, more than 70% are less than 19 years old and none are over 60 years old; 75% are female. Twenty-five persons have been hospitalized, 7 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

According to the CDC website, CDC is collaborating with public health officials in several states and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to investigate a multistate outbreak of human infections due to Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7).

As of 5:00 PM EDT, Monday, January 4, 2010, 21 persons infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 had been reported from 16 states. The number of ill persons who were identified resides in each state as follows: CA (1), CO (1), FL (1), HI (1), IA (1), IN (1), KS (1), MI (1), MN (3), NV (1), OH (2), OK (1), SD (2), TN (1), UT (2), and WA (1).

Known illness onset dates range from October 3, 2009 through December 14, 2009. Most patients became ill between mid-October and late November. Patients range in age from 14 to 87 years and the median age of patients is 34 years, which means half are younger than 34 years. Forty-three percent of patients are females. There have been 9 reported hospitalizations, 1 case of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and no deaths.