E Coli Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark Law Firm : E. coli Blog

The Times-Tribune reported over the weekend that Vickie Shelton, a Knox County resident, passed away on Monday, November 26th at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington after being admitted.  According to the story, Ms. Shelton had eaten ground beef before becoming ill, and public health officials are conducting tests to determine whether that ground beef was contaminated with E. coli.

As reported by the Times-Tribune:

Officials at the U.S. Department of Heath in Fayette County are testing samples of ground beef Shelton had reportedly consumed prior to becoming sick. American Foods Group of Green Bay, Wisc. issued the recall on products produced in October and reportedly shipped to retailers and distributors in seven states including Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia.

The recall, issued Nov. 24, is a class 1 recall with health risks listed as “high.” American Foods Group voluntarily recalled approximately 95,927 pounds of various coarse and fine ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service stated in a news release.

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A first grade student from Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey died Thursday after suffering from an E. coli infection.  Health officials are investigating the source of the child's illness, but have yet to find the source.  Jackson Avenue School sent a letter home to parents, alerting them of the child's illness and death, and notifying parents that health officials had not found reason to believe the child contracted E. coli at school.  WCBS TV reported the story:

In the letter to parents, Hackensack officials wrote that based on a thorough investigation by local and state health officials, the elementary school is in the clear.

"We are very confident at this point based on the information they provided us that this is an isolated incident and there is no need for concern," Hackensack Superintendent Dr. Joseph Montesano told CBS 2 HD.

What's unclear, however, is how the boy contracted the bacteria.

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Today's Daily Record, a newspaper out of Morris County, New Jersey, featured an article on former Marler Clark client Barbara Kowalcyk.  Barbara served on the Board of Directors for S.T.O.P. (Safe Tables Our Priority) for several years, and recently formed the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention (CFI). 

Barbara and her husband, Michael, were propelled into food safety advocacy in 2001, when their two-year-old son, Kevin, died after suffering an E. coli O157:H7 infection and hemolytic uremic syndrome.  In the article, Barbara was quoted on what led her to become an activist:

"Our public health department didn't have the resources or, frankly, the desire to spend a lot of time investigating our case because it wasn't part of an outbreak," Kowalcyk said. "They did very little to help us. We only found out what we did because we contacted an attorney and he worked on our case."

The Kowalcyks had limited knowledge of foodborne illness before their son got sick. The family lived in Wisconsin at the time. They now live in Loveland, Ohio, near Cincinnati.

"We knew a lot more than most people do. We didn't eat out very often, yet we really didn't know enough," Kowalcyk said. "We both are highly educated; we both have master's degrees. I am a biostatistician by training and spent my entire career working in clinical research, so I am publicly health-minded anyway. We were well aware that food could kill."

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The Minnesota Department of Health has been investigating an E. coli outbreak that was the source of 17 confirmed illnesses and one death. MDOH suspects that at least 30 people were ill with E. coli infections, but that not all cases were confirmed through laboratory testing.

A report in the Pioneer Press this morning noted that this latest E. coli outbreak caused the first E. coli-related death in Minnesota since 2002.

A spokesman for MDOH was quoted in the article:

"We think primarily what happened was there were a number of illnesses associated with eating potato salad or another cold salad (at the church) that became cross-contaminated with the ground beef that was used to make meatballs," said Doug Schultz, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health.

In other words, those preparing the food probably used the same utensils or cutting board for the potatoes as for the beef, he said. E. coli generally comes from the intestines of cows.

Health investigators were initially perplexed by the outbreak, Schultz said. People from the church were sick, but so was a group of people who did not attend the event.

The investigators eventually traced the contamination to E. coli that had been discovered during a routine federal inspection of a Nebraska meatpacker. A distributor bought beef from that plant and sold it to a Longville grocer, who in turn sold the beef to a local restaurant and to the organizers of the church event. The victims who weren't infected at the church all had eaten at the same restaurant, Schultz said.

"Basically, the message is cook your meat thoroughly and wash fruits and vegetables, and make sure you wash your hands thoroughly when handling raw meat," Schultz said.

The entire article is available at the Pioneer Press Web site.

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According to a report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune,

As many as 30 people in the Longville area were sickened with E. coli O157:H7 infections in the past six weeks.

A woman from Longville, Minn., who apparently ate contaminated food at a church supper, has become the first Minnesotan recorded as dying of E. coli complications in at least 3Ω years.

Services will be held today for Carolyn Hawkinson, right, 73, at Salem Lutheran Church in Longville, where the meal was served July 19.

Hawkinson, who died Sunday after nearly a month in hospitals, was a former Minneapolis resident, active in her church and its choir, who loved flowers and taught crafts to her grandchildren. She had helped set up for the church supper the day before it was held, her daughter said.

In the past six weeks, E. coli has sickened at least 17 people and perhaps as many as 30 around Longville, the Minnesota Department of Health reported Tuesday. Nine people were hospitalized; Hawkinson and one other with serious complications.

The entire article is available on the Star-Tribune Web site at www.startribune.com.

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Press Association
Thursday July 27, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

A two-year-old girl died in Scotland after contracting a strain of the severe stomach bug E coli, health officials said today.

The toddler, from the village of Ballantrae, south Ayrshire, died at the weekend after being admitted to Glasgow's Royal hospital for sick children, suffering from what is understood to have been the O157 strain of the bacterium. Locals confirmed her death this afternoon.

Two other children from the Dumfries and Galloway area, whose family had contact with the girl, also tested positive for the E coli bug. Both children were admitted to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary at the weekend but have since been discharged.

A spokesman for NHS Dumfries and Galloway said: "A 20-month-old child from Wigtownshire whose family were in contact with the family of the child in Ayrshire was admitted to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary at the weekend with an E coli O157 infection.
"The child was discharged from hospital on Wednesday evening. A second child aged three years who was also in contact with the family in Ayrshire was admitted at the weekend but was discharged from hospital on Monday."

The incubation period for E coli O157 is usually up to 14 days and symptoms can include diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and fever.

A spokesman for the Scottish executive said: "We are aware of these cases and are being kept informed by the relevant NHS boards. Our thoughts are with the families of the young children concerned."

Dr Carol Davidson, director of public health at NHS Ayrshire and Arran, said: "We are very sad to confirm that a two-year-old child from south Ayrshire has died in the Royal hospital for sick children, Yorkhill, from complications from E coli O157 infection.

"Investigations into the source of the infection are ongoing, but at the moment we have no reason to believe that others outside the families affected and their contacts are at any increased risk. Our thoughts are with the families involved during this very difficult time."

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