In the Pure Eire yogurt E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 16 people in Washington and Arizona, some of the patients have contracted secondary food poisoning infections. This term may not be familiar to everyone. So what is this type of infection? A secondary food poisoning infection occurs when someone gets sick from contact with another person, not by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. Many pathogens can be spread person-to-person, by direct contact and common contact with fomites (surfaces), both through the fecal-oral route. In the Pure Eire yogurt E. coli outbreak, for instance, two children in Arizona are sick with the outbreak strain, but neither consumed the recalled yogurt. Instead, they contracted this infection after having close contact … [Read more...]
Organic Yogurt E. coli Outbreak Now Includes Secondary Case in AZ
An organic yogurt E. coli outbreak that includes 11 confirmed cases in Washington now also includes a secondary food poisoning case in Arizona, a health department spokesperson told Food Poisoning Bulletin today. The patient, a 2-year-old girl, did not eat the yogurt but appears to have been exposed to the bacteria by a relative visiting from Washington. She did not require hospitalization. The E. coli O157:H7 outbreak has been linked to grass-fed, organic yogurt made by Pure Eire Dairy of Othello, WA. It was sold under the brand name PCC at PCC Community Markets and the brand name Pure Eire at Super 1 Foods, Andy’s Market and Blue Valley Meats in Walla Walla County and elsewhere. PCC and Pure Eire have both issued yogurt recalls. In addition to 8-oz and 16-oz containers of yogurt, … [Read more...]
