The Georgia E. coli O103 outbreak that is linked to ground beef has now sickened 27 people, Nancy Nydam of the Georgia Department of Public Health told Food Poisoning Bulletin. That is an increase of 10 cases since the last update by the CDC, which released on April 12, 2019. The press release about this outbreak issued by Georgia is from 12 days ago, and only lists 17 illness.
Three people in Georgia are hospitalized. No one has developed HUS, and there are no deaths.
This outbreak began with patients diagnosed in Kentucky in late March 2019, and has grown explosively over the past few weeks. Originally, 20 people were diagnosed in Kentucky, with a few in other states. When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention got involved, the cases jumped up to 109.
At first, the only clue that food safety officials had was that a fast food outlet may have been the source of the illnesses. No more mention of fast food or restaurants has been made since.
The outbreak, as it now stands with these updated numbers, is at least 131 sick. The case count by state, with the numbers we have is: Indiana (1), Georgia (27), Kentucky (65), Ohio (7), Tennessee (28) and Virginia (2).
The median patient age in this outbreak is just 18, which may indicate where patients got the ground beef. Teenagers may be more likely to eat fast food than older people. Ill persons did report that they ate ground beef at homes and in restaurants.
You can contact food safety attorney Fred Pritzker for help by calling 1-888-377-8900.
Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker, who has represented many clients sickened with E. coli infections, said, “As this outbreak continues to grow, we only hope that officials can identify a source. Then perhaps it would slow down.”
The symptoms of an E. coli infection include severe and painful stomach and abdominal cramps, and watery or bloody diarrhea. Some patients may have a mild fever. If you or anyone you know has been ill with these symptoms, see your doctor. You may be part of their Georgia E. coli O103 outbreak. This is a serious infection and can cause significant illness.
