The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has issued a health advisory alerting doctors and other health care providers about an outbreak of shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) cases linked to a Spartanburg-area Mexican restaurant. During the last week of April, 2012, eleven people became ill with E. coli 0157:H7 infections. The restaurant has not yet been named and, according to Adam R. Myrick, Public Information Officer of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, the agency "doesn't plan to name the restaurant at this point." The DHEC is working to determine if specific food items might be involved. The department has interviewed three patients so far. Of those three people, two have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome … [Read more...]
E.coli In Kentucky Sickens Three Kindergarteners, Two Hospitalized
Health officials in Kentucky are investigating an E.coli outbreak that has sickened three Kindergarteners, two of whom are hospitalized, Beth Fisher, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Center For Health and Family Services (KCHFS) told Food Poisoning Bulletin this morning. The children attend school at Stanford Elementary school in Lincoln County, about 45 miles south of Lexington. KCHFS is working with officials from the Lincoln County Department fo Health to determine the scope and cause of the outbreak, but a source has not yet been identified, Fisher said. Health and school officials are informing parents to watch their children for symptoms of an E.coli infection, which include nausea, vomiting and bloody diarrhea and to seek immediate medical attention if such symptoms … [Read more...]
Oregon Raw Milk E. coli Outbreak Targets Children
Of the 19 people who have been sickened by the raw milk E.coli outbreak linked to Foundation Farm in Oregon, 15 are children, four of whom have been hospitalized with kidney failure, according to the Oregon Health Authority. The four children have hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a condition that develops in some children after an E. coli infection. With HUS "damaged red blood cells start to clog the filtering system in the kidneys, which may eventually cause the life-threatening kidney failure associated with hemolytic uremic syndrome," according to the Mayo Clinic. Treatment of HUS can include fluid replacement, red blood cell transfusions, platelet transfusions, plasma exchange and kidney dialysis. So far, 11 of the 19 people who are ill, have culture-confirmed E. coli O157 … [Read more...]
How Bacteria In Raw Milk Sickens Some But Not All Exposed
Raw milk has been the source of a number of recent foodborne illness outbreaks including two ongoing E.coli outbreaks in Missouri and Oregon that have sickened at least 18 people and hospitalized five small children with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which causes kidney failure. Raw, or unpasteurized, milk products account for the majority of all dairy product-associated outbreaks of foodborne illness reported to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). From 1973 to 2009, 82 percent of dairy-related outbreaks were caused by raw milk or cheese made from raw milk. In the last 30 months, 27 raw milk outbreaks have sickened 409 people, according to reports from state health departments. There have been five raw milk outbreaks so far this year. Although public health … [Read more...]
Increase in STEC Infections in Missouri; Two Cases of HUS Reported
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is seeing an increase in cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) bacteria in the last few weeks. Five cases of E. coli 0157:H7 have been confirmed according to an advisory obtained by Food Poisoning Bulletin. In two of these cases, a seventeen-month old child and a two-year old have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious and possibly life-threatening condition that can cause permanent kidney damage. A source of the infections hasn't been identified. If anyone is exhibiting symptoms of STEC infection, include bloody diarrhea and severe stomach cramps, please seek medical attention and tell your healthcare provider to check for STEC bacteria. The symptoms of STEC infection include diarrhea that is often … [Read more...]
Lifelong Effects of Food Poisoning
Every person in American has had food poisoning at one time or another. After all, since 1 in 6 Americans contacts a foodborne illness every year, that means, statistically, every six years you'll get sick. And considering that most foodborne illness cases go unreported, that number is probably much higher. For most people, food poisoning means a day or two of feeling miserable, with frequent trips to the bathroom. They may develop a fever and chills, and will definitely lose a few pounds. Most recover within a week. But for some people, food poisoning means a lifelong battle with their health. An article in the April 2012 issue of Scientific American details some of the long-term consequences of eating a burger contaminated with E. coli or raw milk that contains … [Read more...]
Study: Avoid Giving Antibiotics to Patients Infected by Toxic E. coli
A week after a group of health scientists in Germany published findings of their success in treating toxic E. coli infections with an antibiotic, a separate study newly published says antibiotic use during E. coli O157:H7 infections is associated with a higher rate of subsequent HUS, and should be avoided. HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome, is a life-threatening disease that is known to develop in some people -- especially children under 5 years old -- who become sick from consumption of food or water contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). The type of E. coli known as O157:H7 is the most prevalent STEC. Led by a pediatrician from the University of New Mexico Children's Hospital and including fellow researchers from Missouri and Washington state, the study group … [Read more...]
Michigan E. coli Outbreak Linked to Ambassador Restaurant in Houghton
The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department is investigating an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that has sickened 7 people, 4 of whom have been hospitalized. Those sickened became ill over the Christmas holidays after eating at The Ambassador, a restaurant in Houghton, Michigan, that the health department has linked to the outbreak. Initially 3 local and 2 non-local cases were identified. Investigation has led to the identification of two additional cases. The identified cases are 2 people from Dickinson County, MI, one from Wisconsin, and 4 from Copper Country, which includes all of Keweenaw County, MI and most of Houghton, Baraga and Ontonagon counties. Four of the people were hospitalized. The health department has determined that the likely source of the outbreak was an ill … [Read more...]
Task Force To Study What Measures Were in Place to Stop E. coli at NC Fair
A multiagency task force is being created in North Carolina to evaluate the preventive measures that were in place during the 2011 State Fair, when at least 25 attendees were sickened with E. coli O157:H7 in an outbreak linked to human contact with animals in livestock exhibits. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published field notes from its investigation of the October 2011 outbreak, which included eight hospitalizations and four cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening complication of toxic E. coli infection that shuts down a person's kidneys and can cause stroke, heart attack and invasion of the central nervous system (paralysis). Outbreak investigators found 25 case-patients ranging from 1 to 77 years old. The CDC said the strain of E. … [Read more...]
Employee Cafeteria Billing Cards Solved Company’s E. coli Mystery
When a dangerous strain of E. coli sickened more than 60 employees of a large company in Germany last spring, health investigators turned to the electronic billing records kept by two in-house cafeterias to accurately identify fenugreek sprouts as the cause. Details of the investigation in Frankfurt, Germany, were reported in this month's issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study authors, including experts from Germany's Robert Koch Institute and Frankfurt's Health Protection Authority, said billing data from the company's two cafeteria sites allowed for a rapid discovery of the outbreak's cause at a time when intense media speculation over the cause of the outbreak made it difficult to rely on people's memories of … [Read more...]
