Twenty-one people are sick in the Tennessee E. coli O103 outbreak that has also sickened people in Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia. The outbreak was first noticed in Kentucky in late March 2019. The cases exploded in one week from 20 sick to more than 72.
And officials do not know what caused this outbreak. There has been no mention by public health officials about possible sources, although news reports have mentioned ground beef, chicken, and American cheese. What officials have said is that they think exposure to fast food may be associated with this outbreak; if not fast food, then some other type of food distribution system, since the illnesses are so widespread.
It’s unusual that so many people are sick with the same strain of pathogen and no one knows the source. To investigate these outbreaks, people at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments interview patients identified in the outbreak. They ask them what they ate in the past week, the restaurants they visited, and what they purchased at the grocery store to try to solve this Tennessee E. coli O103 outbreak.
Then, if and when a common source is tentatively identified, investigators visit the venues named, take food and environmental samples, and send them to labs for tests. This procedure can take up to two weeks.
You can contact food safety attorney Fred Pritzker for help by calling 1-888-377-8900.
Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker said, “We hope that investigators find the source of these illnesses soon, so action can be taken, whether it’s a food recall or warning to restaurant patrons.”
Past E. coli outbreaks have been linked to everything from ground beef to romaine lettuce. Any food can be contaminated with this pathogen.
The symptoms of an E. coli infection include a mild fever, severe and painful abdominal and stomach cramps, and the characteristic diarrhea that is usually bloody and watery. Symptoms start two to eight days after exposure. If you or anyone you know has been ill with these symptoms, they should see a doctor.
Pritzker Hageman law firm helps people sickened by food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and other pathogenic bacteria get answers, compensation and justice. We protect our client’s legal rights. Our lawyers represent families of children in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against grocery stores, food producers, shippers, dairies, restaurants, retailers, and schools. Attorney Fred Pritzker recently won $7.5 million for young client whose kidneys failed after he developed hemolytic uremic syndrome because of an E. coli infection.
