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

On April 11, 2012, the USDA announced a recall of 2,057 pounds of ground and tenderized beef products from Town and Country Foods, Inc., after the company confirmed a positive E. coli O157:H7 lab test result.  The following products are subject to the recall:

• 5- and 10- lb. boxes of 2-, 2.6-, 3-, and 4- oz. “Town & Country Foods XL Hamburg Patties”
• 5- and 10- lb. boxes of 2-, 2.6-, 3-, and 4- oz. “Town & Country Foods Hamburg Patties”
• 10- lb. box containing variously weighted bags of “Town & Country Beef for Stewing”
• 6-, 8-, and 10- oz. “Town & Country Beef Sirloin Filets”
• 5- and 10- lb. boxes containing variously weighted bags of “Town and Country Hamburg”
• 5- and 10- lb. boxes containing variously weighted bags of “Town and Country XL Hamburg”

Each case bears a label with the establishment number “EST. 9710” inside the USDA mark of inspection. Additionally, the products contain the following packaging codes: 10952, 10962, 10972, 11002, and 11012. The products subject to recall were produced between April 4, 2012 and April 10, 2012 and were shipped to wholesale and retail establishments in Maine. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on FSIS' website at www.fsis.usda.gov/FSIS_Recalls/ Open_Federal_Cases/index.asp.

The problem was discovered through company lab testing which confirmed a positive result for E.coli O157:H7. The company did not hold product pending test results, resulting in this recall. FSIS and the company have received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products. Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a health care provider.

State health officials say there are now 27 E. coli cases in the St. Louis area outbreak.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services also said Saturday that one new case is from a Boone County resident who had recently been in St. Louis.

The department is trying to determine if two other cases in Boone County are connected to the St. Louis outbreak.

As reported by Erin Taylor of the Kingman Miner, Justice Jackson an 8th-grader at Kingman Academy of Learning Middle School, is home after a battle with E. coli O157:H7. According to Ms. Taylor, he was diagnosed in February with a form of E. coli food poisoning known as hemolytic uremic syndrome. HUS occurs in about 10 percent of E. coli cases and can lead to kidney failure.

Jackson was released from Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas March 7. His mom, Sherry Jackson, said his kidneys are functioning at about 70 percent. He returns to Las Vegas Monday for a follow-up visit.

"He's still not out of the woods yet," Sherry said.

Justice is currently on medication for high blood pressure, which he could suffer from permanently, and he is on a highly regimented sodium-restrictive diet.

"He's not a normal 14-year-old anymore," his mom said. Sherry said her son was disappointed to miss a tournament last weekend where his Coyotes basketball team placed second. He also missed tryouts for the baseball team.

Three new cases of E. coli linked to Zillman Meat Market in Wausau have been identified by the Marathon County Health Department, according to a release.

In late December, the health department identified four people who became sick after eating E. coli-infected smoked meat products purchased at Zillman. The shop conducted a thorough cleaning at that time.

The additional cases identified today by the health department involve meat products purchased before the time of the original announcement. According to the release, the cases involved meat products purchased in Wausau that were shared with family members in Michigan.

According to Austin KWTX TV, Derek Scott “Bubba” Kirby, 3, of Goldthwaite, who’s been fighting for his young life for several weeks at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, will be transferred Monday or Tuesday to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston where he can receive more specialized care, his mother, Deven Denman, said.

Bubba contracted E. coli from the floor of a rodeo arena after he ended up with a mouthful of dirt when he was thrown from a sheep during a mutton-busting event and then developed serious complications that caused his kidneys to shut down and led to a stroke.

He’s one of the 5 to 10 percent of E. coli patients who develop a potentially life-threatening complication, hemolytic uremic syndrome, which develops when E. coli bacteria lodged in the digestive tract make toxins that enter the bloodstream and start to destroy red blood cells.

He’s unconscious and on dialysis and had a rough run last week as doctors attempted to wean him from the pain medication he’s been receiving, his mother said.

Denman said Monday doctors were starting over on the weaning process after deciding they decreased dosages too quickly.

She said she’s grateful for all of the “wonderful work that has been done for Bubba,” but said the Houston hospital has a nephrologist with state-of the-art equipment to help with the youngster’s kidneys as well as a pain management team to take over the process of weaning from medication.

She said he will also require physical therapy.

Goldthwaite residents have been holding carwashes and other benefits, selling T-shirts and praying for the youngster since learning of Bubba’s plight.

Word of the little boy’s fight has spread well beyond the town of 1,800 however, thanks to a Facebook page, Bubba’s Angels, which had more than 4,600 followers from around the country Monday.