Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is investigating a possible E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with the petting zoo at Sponsel’s Minnesota Harvest south of Shakopee, Minnesota.
The firm is representing a 3-year-old boy who appears to have contracted the disease from a llama at the petting zoo. The child spent 11 days this month in a Twin Cities hospital fighting hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a life-threatening complication of an E. coli O157 infection.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) found a strain of E. coli O157:H7 in the feces of a llama at the petting zoo that genetically matched the strain of E. coli O157:H7 that sickened the 3-year-old.
At least one other person who recently visited Sponsel’s Minnesota Harvest Petting Zoo may also have contracted E. coli HUS.
The petting zoo has been voluntarily and temporarily shut down. The apple orchard at Sponsel’s Minnesota Harvest is not associated with this potential E. coli outbreak.
E. coli O157:H7 is one of the most common and most dangerous kinds of intestinal disease agents associated with animal contact. Pritzker Olsen also represents victims of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at this year’s National Western Stock Show in Denver.
“Despite state guidelines recommending sanitation measures to ensure the safety of visitors to petting zoos, it appears the operator of this facility did not follow all of these guidelines,” stated Attorney Fred Pritzker. “The Minnesota Department of Health regularly sends these guidelines to businesses with petting zoos. This outbreak might have been prevented if this business had put safety first.”
For a free consultation with an attorney regarding your E. coli poisoning case, please call 612-338-0202, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form.
