An E. coli outbreak that has sickened six people in four counties may be linked to a restaurant chain, according to news reports. The Health Department reportedly said that those six patients live in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somersest, and Warren counties. There is no information about this potential E. coli outbreak on any of the New Jersey government websites.
At this time we don’t know the strain of bacteria that has made people sick, the ages of the patients, or illness onset dates. We also do not know if anyone has been hospitalized, or if anyone has developed HUS. Government officials are not naming the chain until this potential E. coli outbreak is confirmed.
Officials are interviewing patients and asking where they have eaten in the past week, as well as the foods they consumed and possible contact with people who are sick. Officials are also conducting traceback investigations of food that may be contaminated.
If you live in New Jersey and have been experiencing the symptoms of an E. coli infection, see your doctor. Those symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, severe and painful abdominal and stomach cramps, and diarrhea that may be bloody or watery.
Most people who do contract an E. coli infection do see a doctor because they do become so sick. Some people need to be hospitalized because their illness is so severe. And if this illness is improperly treated with antibiotics, especially if the patient is young, it may develop into a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
The symptoms of HUS include little or no urine output, easy bruising, bleeding from the nose and mouth, a skin rash, lethargy. HUS is a type of kidney failure, and patients can suffer strokes and even die. Anyone experience these symptoms must be taken to a doctor immediately.
