A benefit was held Saturday for a 2-year-old girl sickened with E. coli in September proved to be a success. The fund-raiser brought in $428 for the Emilie Allen Benefit Fund.
Emilie Allen, a 2-year-old girl from Bonne Terre, contracted E. coli 0157:H7 back in September. Allen soon thereafter suffered kidney failure and was forced to go on dialysis.
The benefit was held from 6-9 p.m. with performances by Sheriff Dan Bullock and the Deputies Band. Donations were accepted throughout the evening.
A benefit account for Emilie has been set up at First State Community Bank. The Bonne Terre Eagles recently presented Allen’s mother Valerie Allen with a benefit check for $680.
The St. Francois County Health Department conducted routine inspections at two local restaurants on Oct. 4 in an attempt to identify the source of the E. coli that sickened Emilie.
The Daily Journal reports that:

“We have not made any direct links to any of the food establishments that we inspected with the origin of the strain of E. coli 0157:H7,” said Jon Peacock, Environmental Public Health Specialist. “We were given information from the family of the infected person of places they had eaten prior to being infected.”
“We also took a water sample out of the private well at the residence of the family,” Peacock said. “It came back negative.”