Risk of E. coli in Sprouts is Enough for Officials to Warn Against Feeding Sprouts to Young Children
Since 1996, there have been at least 30 reported outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with different types of raw and lightly cooked sprouts in the U.S. Most of these outbreaks were caused by E. coli and Salmonella.
Public health officials who study these outbreaks warn parents to be especially cautious if you have a child or someone in the family who is elderly or living with a compromised immune system. Certain experts — including epidemiologists at the Minnesota Department of Health — warn that children under 5 years of age, immunocompromised persons, pregnant women and the elderly should avoid eating sprouts (including alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean sprouts).
E. coli O157:H7 and other forms of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli can be life-threatening to young children because they are in the age group most at risk for a complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This condition leads quickly to kidney failure after initial symptoms of E. coli (bloody diarrhea and painful stomach cramps) begin to subside. The infection, which attacks a person’s red blood cells, can also lead to stroke, paralysis, severe anemia and vascular injury in the heart and elsewhere. HUS survivors must spend the rest of their lives with affects of the disease, including hypertension, diabetes, kidney problems and other deficits.
In E. coli sprout outbreaks, unsanitary manufacturing practices and seed contamination are often to blame. There are a number of approved techniques to kill harmful bacteria that may be present on seeds and even tests for seeds during sprouting. But no treatment is guaranteed to eliminate all harmful bacteria and growers stick to food safety standards in varying degrees. Sprout E. coli outbreak investigations conducted by our law firm over the years has reaffirmed this premise time and time again.
Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is one of the very few legal groups in the country practicing extensively in the area of E. coli litigation, representing families and individuals who deserve compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost time at work and other harms caused by the negligence of those who profit from selling food. Even we were taken aback this year at the power of a sprout E. coli outbreak in Europe, centered in northern Germany.
Amid panic and exhaustive efforts to find the source of the outbreak, upwards of 4,000 people became infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O104:H4 and more than 823 of those victims became patients with HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome. At least 45 people died. Ultimately, the outbreak was traced to contaminated sprout seeds imported from Egypt. The micro-organisms naturally multiply and cluster as the seeds sprout because they are grown in warm and moist environments. This is what creates the food safety risk and it’s a chronic problem that deserves much closer scrutiny by the industry and by regulators. While consumers should take precautions, they are not to blame when contaminated sprouts make someone seriously ill.
Jaquith Strawberry Farm E. coli Outbreak in Oregon – Lawyers Investigating
Our E. coli lawyers are investigating an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Oregon associated with eating strawberries from Jaquith Strawberry Farm located in Newberg, Oregon. Jaquith sold its strawberries to buyers who then resold them at roadside stands and farmers’ markets in Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Yamhill and Clatsop counties.
Ten people have confirmed E. coli O157:H7 infections caused by a single strain. The E. coli victims include residents of Washington, Clatsop, and Multnomah counties. Six other people in northwest Oregon also have recently developed an E. coli O157:H7 infection and appear to be part of this outbreak.
Of the confirmed cases, four have been hospitalized. Two of those hospitalized had E. coli kidney failure, and one of them, a woman from Washington County, died. Approximately 5 percent of people infected with E. coli O157:H7, especially young children and the elderly, develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and/or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and suffer serious and potentially fatal E. coli kidney damage and failure.
Jaquith has recalled its products. While investigating the farm, William Keene, senior epidemiologist with Oregon Public Health, saw dear roaming through the strawberry field. Keene is having deer feces tested for E. coli to determine if deer are the source of the E. coli contamination, Keene told the Oregonian.
Tennessee E. coli Investigation Continues as More Cases are Confirmed
Tennessee is in the midst of what appears to be at least two E. coli outbreaks, and health officials have yet to determine the sources. It is “outbreaks” because health officials have reported that some of the cases of E. coli are not related to each other. The number of E. coli victims continues to grow with two more cases bringing the total to 13 sickened in Northeast Tennessee.
Two Virginia cases may also be connected to one of the Tennessee outbreaks. A 2-year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother from Dryden, Virginia contracted E. coli infections that developed into hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), an often fatal illness sometimes referred to as E. coli kidney failure. In addition to kidney failure, HUS can cause brain damage, heart attack, stroke, blindness, severe hypertension and other serious health problems. The girl died, and her brother is out of the hospital.
E. coli is dangerous because it produces Shiga toxins, which cause a condition known as hemorrhagic colitis, the source of the bloody diarrhea associated with E. coli O157:H7 infections. Shiga toxin is also responsible for HUS.
These E. coli outbreaks come with a cost. One family has lost a daughter and has medical expenses and other financial losses related to their son’s illness. Many other families also have medical expenses and other losses. In addition, the children and adults who were sickened suffered severe pain. Those responsible should be held accountable. We have handled many cases where a “smoking gun” was never found. The epidemiological and microbiological evidence needs to be examined to see if there is sufficient evidence to file a lawsuit.
E. coli HUS Death in Jasper County, Missouri
E. coli HUS has claimed the life of a Jasper County, Missouri, resident who was sickened along with 10 others at a family gathering over Thanksgiving, Jasper County Health officials said. Jasper County Health Department Director Tony Moehr told CarthagePress.com that the victim died this week and his department is investigating to determine what food led to the illness.
Moehr said his office has collected the leftover food that remains from that family event. He said a total of 11 out of 24 people who attended the event reported some symptoms. “Sometimes people have symptoms and they get over them in a day or a few days. In rare cases, severe E. coli poisoning can progress to conditions like hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) that can cause the organs to shut down. That more severe form is apparently what happened in this case,” Moehr told the news reporter. He said the outbreak appears to be contained to the single family event.
E. coli deaths happen about 80 times a year in the United States. The organism also causes more than 73,000 illnesses. HUS develops in five to 15 percent of people who contract E. coli infections. It is a disease that attacks a person’s red blood cells and can cause serious illness including kidney failure, strokes, heart problems, paralysis and other damage. HUS also is the leading cause of E. coli deaths, most often affecting young children, the elderly or others who have weakened immune systems. But HUS deaths also can occur in healthy people of any age.
National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen currently is representing E. coli HUS victims and has handled many HUS death cases on behalf of surviving family members. To talk to an E. coli lawyer about financial recovery claims, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web site. Pritzker Olsen provides free case consultations and can answer your legal questions about losses suffered from E. coli poisoning. Our firm is one of the few in the nation practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have collected millions for victims and their families. Pritzker Olsen also is actively involved in efforts to eliminate dangerous pathogens from our food supply and our attorneys often are quoted in the mainstream press for their expertise in food poisoning.
Child Daycare E. coli Outbreak Reviewed by County
A fatal daycare E. coli outbreak in Vancouver, Washington, spread through person-to-person contact and was not caused all at once from a serving of contaminated food, according to a review of the 2010 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak by Clark County Public Health.
A total of 23 children and four staff members were found to have either probable or confirmed cases of E.coli O157:H7. One child, 4-year-old Ronan Wilson, died April 8 after a week at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. Three other children were hospitalized.
According to a story this week in The Columbian newspaper, Dr. Alan Melnick, the county’s public health officer, told the county board that officials first learned of the case Friday, March 19, after a child was hospitalized. The report said the child attended the Fletch Family Daycare, but an initial investigation showed there were no other sick children at the daycare. Melnick reported that the same physician who treated the first child reported a second case in a Fletch Family Daycare attendee on March 26. At that point testing was urged for all children and adults in the daycare.
But by April 1, Ronan was hospitalized and he died 7 days later. The newspaper quoted Melnick as saying that the pediatrician who first saw Ronan concluded Ronan had the flu because he didn’t have bloody diarrhea and said Ronan didn’t need to be tested, even after learning Ronan attended a day care where other children had E. coli.
While bloody diarrhea occurs in up to 90 percent of E.coli cases, Ronan and others didn’t initially have it, Melnick said. The commissioners also received a letter from Dr. Anthony Marfin, the state epidemiologist for communicable diseases. Marfin concluded the county acted within state guidelines while responding to the outbreak.
The person-to-person transmission found to have occurred at the Fletch Family Daycare is consistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data that most daycare E. coli outbreaks happen via fecal-oral spreading due to poor hand-washing hygiene. In outbreaks of E. coli, five to 15 percent of people infected by the organism develop life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome, HUS. Of all age groups, young children are the most susceptible to contracting HUS, which typically involves kidney failure and can lead to other severe health issues.
Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., currently represents families who are dealing with E. coli infection and HUS. Over the years our attorneys have recovered millions for victims of these outbreaks, including daycare E. coli outbreaks from around the country.
For a free case consultation or to ask legal questions of an E. coli lawyer who has handled many HUS cases, call our firm at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.
