The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has issued the final update on the Learning Vine daycare STEC outbreak. The case count is at 14 cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, including people who were at that facility and their family members. There was one fatality.
E.coli attorney Eric Hageman filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family whose 2-year old boy died.
There are no reports of ongoing transmission in this outbreak, and no reports of new illnesses in students or staff since June 1, 2015. The investigation is now over.
On May 18, 2015, DHEC was notified of a confirmed case of STEC in a person at the center. No other recent cases of E. coli in Greenwood County were found in a database search. But on May 29, DHEC was notified of a person who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in Greenwood County. That case was also associated with the same daycare facility.
The staggered onset of illness over a time period of early May to early June suggests person-to-person transmission rather than exposure to a single source such as food. The CDC was brought into the investigation and reviewed the information.
As of July 24, 2015, 330 test results have been negative for STEC. The investigators admit that the source of the contamination may never be identified.
