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The Fresno Bee reported today that health officials have identified two additional people who tested positive for E. coli and may be part of the recent outbreak traced to private gatherings held in the Fresno area.  According to the Bee:

Investigators are tracking down everyone who attended three private parties where tainted food might have been served.

Officials need to know what the people ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past week, said David Luchini, division manager of communicable diseases for the Fresno County Community Health Department. He did not have an estimate on how long the interviews would take.

"You can imagine it takes time to do a thorough job," Luchini said Wednesday.

KSEE TV also continued its coverage of the recent E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Fresno County with a report on the condition of Clovis West students who were hospitalized with E. coli infections:

Saint Agnes Hospital confirms a Clovis West senior was released from the hospital [May 30th].

Students say a sophomore also has been released, but a senior football player remains hospitalized.

Health officials say five people went to the emergency room May 21st with the strongest strain of E.coli, after all five attended the same private party May 19th.

E. coli O157:H7 can cause a complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS.  HUS occurs in 5-10 percent of E. coli patients, and can cause damage to the kidneys, brain, pancreas, and central nervous system. 

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Fresno County  health officials continue to investigate an E. coli outbreak that has sickened as many as 20 people so far.  According to a report from KFSN-TV in Fresno, the Fresno County Health Department and Fresno County Environmental Health are looking into whether the Meat Market is the source of the E. coli outbreak. 

The Fresno County Health Department says 20 cases have been reported. Dr. Ed Moreno, Fresno County Public Health Director, says, "There are actually several cases that are under investigation by public health staff. In particular, we have three private events that have come to our attention." Each occurred May 19th. "Among these three events, there was one common supplier of food, " says Dr. Moreno. He continues, "There was also a wedding and another graduation party and everybody narrowed it down to the meat. . .everybody was picking up their meat at the same time, at the Meat Market."

The grill at the popular Meat Market in north Fresno was shut down for about an hour while county health inspectors checked the facility. Tim Casagrande, Fresno County Environmental Health says, "Our staff's gonna be looking at essentially food handling, critical points, temperatures."

Laboratory results from samples submitted by five outbreak victims have already come back positive for E. coli, and additional tests on other outbreak victims are pending.  In a story for the Fresno Bee, Barbara Anderson wrote:

A Saint Agnes Medical Center spokeswoman said doctors saw six patients with E. coli symptoms between Thursday and Sunday. Two of the six were admitted and one remained in the hospital Tuesday, she said.

Moreno said people began showing up at emergency departments on May 21 with cramping pain and bloody diarrhea. Hospital laboratories reported results of E. coli tests to the county Friday and Saturday.

Symptoms of E. coli typically surface in two to three days from exposure, but can take up to eight days to appear.

Hospital tests showed the patients -- from toddlers to older adults -- had a strain of E. coli O157, Moreno said. County health officials suspect the strain is E. coli O157:H7, a more virulent form, but results confirming it will not be available from the state laboratory for at least another week.

The Bee also reported that one person remained hospitalized at Saint Agnes Medical Center.  The story does not say whether that person has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication of E. coli infection that can lead to kidney failure. 

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KFSN-TV reported that health officials are investigating 20 reported E. coli cases - 16 from the same source - in an outbreak that apparently began after two graduation parties on May 19.  KFSN-TV spoke with one of the victims, who said food from the same Fresno market was served at both graduation parties.

According to the Fresno Bee:

[H]ealth workers are talking to people in attendance at two other parties held on the same day to determine if more people have become ill, Moreno said.

A number of food sources are under scrutiny, but the parties were catered by the same company, said Tim Casagrande, the county's director of environmental health.

How foods become contaminated with E. coli:
(from www.about-ecoli.com)

E. coli O157:H7 bacteria is believed to mostly live in the intestines of cattle, but has also been found in the intestines of chickens, deer, sheep, and pigs. E. coli O157:H7 does not make the animals that carry it ill; the animals are merely the reservoir for the bacteria.

Meat typically becomes contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 during the slaughtering process, when the contents of an animal's intestines and feces are allowed to come into contact with the carcass. Unless the carcass is sanitized, the E. coli bacteria are eventually mixed into the meat as it is ground. Because the bacteria is mixed into the meat during the grinding process, and is not just on the surface, thorough cooking (to160 degrees) is required to prevent E. coli O157:H7 poisoning from consumption of ground beef. Contaminated meat looks and smells normal, and although the number of organisms required to cause an infection is not known, it is suspected to be very small.

Fresh fruits and vegetables can become contaminated pre-or post-harvest. Apples picked up from off the ground and used in the production of unpasteurized fruit juices were the source of a large E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in 1996. Fecal matter from cows’ udders and unsanitary production facilities have led to numerous E. coli outbreaks traced to raw milk. Contaminated seeds, irrigation water, and flooding have contributed to E. coli outbreaks traced to alfalfa sprouts, lettuce, spinach, parsley, and other fresh produce.

www.about-ecoli.com is sponsored by E. coli lawyers at Marler Clark, a law firm with a national reputation for the successful representation of victims of E. coli outbreaks.

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