E.coli illnesses in children from eight states have health officials stumped. All of the children and two adults from a total of nine states have been diagnosed with E.coli O26 infections since May, but state health officials, working in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), were unable to determine a single, common source of the illnesses.
In Broome County, NY lab tests have confirmed that two cases, including a 3-year-old boy, are match of the same E. coli O26 strain. Both of those people were hospitalized and released. Three more cases have yet to be confirmed through lab testing.
“New York state is typing the E.coli and did PFGE and the isolates from Broome County and they match. Whether there is an exact match for the eight other states is unclear at this point,” Claudia Edwards, Broome County Public Health Director told Food Poisoning Bulletin.
PFGE is Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) is test performed to find the bacteria’s “genetic fingerprint.” These results are shared on a public health network allowing health officials to see if people have been sickened by the same bacteria.
This particular cluster of illnesses seem to be targeting children. According to Edwards, seven of the nine cases that were reported outside New York were pediatric. Some of the other states with cases include California, Missouri, Georgia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
“We don’t know what the potential exposure is,” said Edwards. Some but not all cases were associated with Nathaniel Cole Park.
