The toddler who died in a Vancouver, Washington, daycare E. coli outbreak was the last of four children to fall ill with an infection before the in-home daycare center was closed by public health officials.
The deceased child became ill almost two weeks after the first case was diagnosed — a period in which health officials allowed the daycare to stay open.
The delayed closing was documented by the Associated Press, which quoted Clark County Health Officer Dr. Alan Melnick as saying there was concern that other parents who used the facility could take their children to different day cares and risk exposing others.
The outbreak timeline certainly raises questions about the judgment call because in the end, the Fletch family daycare center was closed on April 2. Under the closure, public health officials are monitoring the children with repetitive E. coli testing. They won’t be allowed to go back to any daycare center until they are cleared as safe.
National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen is accepting cases from this outbreak and answering any legal questions parents might have. An E. coli lawyer at the firm can be reached Toll Free at 1-888-377-8900 or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page.
Pritzker Olsen is a leader in representing victims of foodborne illness and is actively involved in efforts to prevent outbreaks and strengthen the safety of the U.S. food supply.
Outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 normally start with the consumption of contaminated ground beef, other food or water, but person-to-person transmission can fuel an outbreak. Of all outbreak settings, daycare centers are the most problematic for person-to-person spreading, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
When daycare E. coli outbreaks occur, they should be especially alarming because young children are the most susceptible of any age group to develop a life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, HUS. HUS is the leading cause of kidney failure in children worldwide and the leading cause of E. coli deaths.
Our experience with HUS victims is that they can suffer far more than renal failure. Powerful toxins from the E. coli can wreak havoc all over, including the body’s central nervous system, causing stroke, brain injury, coma, convulsions and paralysis.
