North Dakota State University (NDSU) has warned members of its campus to take extra precautions against the spread of bacteria because an employee who works with E. coli has fallen ill.
Tests have not confirmed yet whether the scientist is infected with E. coli, but an email alert was published Friday for the NDSU community for staff and students to wash hands frequently and promptly report any illnesses to supervisors and to follow lab protocols.
The sick employee is a staff member in a laboratory in the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering. The situation was reported by the Fargo Forum after the newspaper interview NDSU spokeswoman Najla Amundson. The university didn’t note the type of E. coli the lab worker was working with.
According to national E. coli lawyers at Pritzker Olsen attorneys, outbreaks of E. coli are most often associated with contaminated food, which leads to gastrointestinal illness. But person-to-person transmission of E. coli O157:H7 and other types of the bacterium may also occur and can play an important role in spread among family members or people who work closely together.
Bacteria in diarrheal stools of infected persons can be transmitted to others if thorough hand-washing protocols are not followed. For more information and to protect your legal rights regarding E. coli infection, call Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or submit an online form for a free case consultation from an attorney.
