November 2004

The Herald-Sun reports that three young children in Orange County now have been diagnosed with E. coli, and health officials are awaiting lab results on nearly a dozen more.
All three children, a 5-year-old who attends Glenwood Elementary School and two who are in preschool, are doing fine, said Rosemary Summers, the county’s health…

Suspected cases of E. coli infection have tripled since last week, as N.C. health officials narrowed their search for the source of bacteria to last month’s State Fair.
Health officials are now investigating 112 cases of possible E. coli infection, with 35 cases confirmed so far. Of the 35, 32 visited the Raleigh fair, which ran from Oct. 15-24, and half are children under age 5.
“We’re investigating all areas where people have contact with animals,” including the fair’s two petting zoos and other livestock exhibits, state epidemiologist Dr. Jeffrey Engel said Monday at a Raleigh news conference. “But there are other avenues of infection from E. coli. Contaminated food is also under investigation.”
If the N.C. outbreak turns out to be related to petting zoos or fairs, it will be one in a string of such outbreaks from Oregon and Washington to Ohio and Pennsylvania since 1998.Continue Reading 112 cases of E. coli infection suspected

North Carolina health officials are now investigating at least 12 E. coli cases, many of which may be linked to a petting zoo at the N.C. State Fair.
Early signs:
The patients at Children’s Hospital range in age from 15 months to 14 years, although hemolytic-uremic syndrome usually afflicts only young children. The syndrome…

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Children’s Hospital is treating several children with E. coli bacterial infection.
Jeremiah McCord, 2, was at the hospital undergoing kidney dialysis because of HUS. It’s his third treatment. Jeremiah is one of seven children in the last month, five in the last week, to be treated at the…

The Herald-Sun reports that state public health officials disclosed Friday that a second Durham County child and one from Person County are among 20 people statewide who have been confirmed with E. coli infections.
The two newly reported cases and two previously reported cases in Durham and Chatham counties are part of the upsurge in…

The Herald-Sun reports that a Glenwood Elementary School student has been infected with E. coli. The student is doing fine, and will return to the school as soon as laboratory tests have confirmed the infection is fully resolved, according to a news release issued by the district.
State officials, meanwhile, are investigating 20 confirmed…

The state’s largest E. coli outbreak in three years is continuing to grow. Right now, health officials have confirmed 24 cases of the highly contagious bacteria.
With North Carolina’s worst E. coli outbreak since 2001, Tomerrial Boykin, a concerned Wilson mom, isn’t taking her son’s diarrhea problems lightly.
The health department said around 40 possible…

The Associated Press reports that North Carolina has confirmed more cases of infection with the E. coli bacteria, raising the total to 24 victims and 14 suspected cases Thursday.
Health officials are awaiting genetic tests on some of the bacteria to see whether the cases are related. So far, the most common link among victims is that some visited the State Fair last month.
Of the 38 cases being examined, at least 15 have some link to the State Fair and one person attended the Cleveland County fair. Seven people did not go to the fair, and investigators are awaiting information from others.
“If it does turn out to be a petting zoo, there are thousands of people who were exposed, and they are widespread,” said Dr. Jeffrey Engel, state epidemiologist. “People came to visit from other states.”Continue Reading N.C.’s E. coli outbreak grows, 24 confirmed cases