HUS E. coli in Children
Attorney Fred Pritzker 
Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a disease that kills red blood cells. It sometimes occurs as a complication in food poisoning cases caused by E. coli bacteria. And it disproportionately affects children. Nearly 1 in 10 children who contract E. coli food poisoning will develop HUS.
The recent outbreaks of E. coli food poisoning in Missouri and Oregon linked to raw milk consumption have sickened at least 18 people; six of them are children. And five of those children have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome.
The type of E. coli, called E. coli 0157:H7, that can lead to HUS produces a toxin called Shiga toxin. This toxin is released into the blood stream where it starts destroying red blood cells that carry oxygen to the organs and tissues in the body. White blood cells transport the toxin to the kidneys, where the damaged red blood cells and the toxin block blood vessels and structures.
In fact, HUS is one of the leading causes of acute kidney failure. The toxin can also injure the brain, pancreas, and other organs and can lead to a stroke or coma.
HUS usually develops between the 8th and 12th days of the bacterial infection, but some people develop it earlier and some later. Hemolytic uremic syndrome is much more common among children, especially those who are under the age of 5. Young children’s immune systems are still developing, making them more susceptible to infection and complications.
Contact Fred for a free consultation.Symptoms of HUS include paleness, fatigue, irritability, confusion, no or very high urine output, swelling of the eyes, face, extremities, or body, fever, rash, unexplained bruises, bloody diarrhea or blood in the urine. Patients usually spend two weeks in the hospital, receiving supportive care with fluid replacement for dehydration, red blood cell and platelet transfusions, and kidney dialysis. Antibiotics are usually not effective against E. coli 0157:H7 and may actually increase the risk of developing HUS.
While many children with HUS recover, often their kidneys lose some ability to function. A kidney that loses 40% of its functioning ability still must perform all of the tasks of a normal kidney, including blood filtering, regulating vitamin and hormone levels, and controlling blood pressure. And more than half of all children who develop HUS suffer kidney failure.
Routine kidney care must become part of regular health care routines after an HUS diagnosis. Your child’s pediatrician may recommend that she see a nephrologist, or kidney specialist. Some children lose kidney function completely and must go on dialysis or consider a kidney transplant.
Anyone injured with food poisoning has a right to full and fair compensation. Parents of children with E. coli-HUS can contact me at 1-888-377-8900 or by submitting the firm’s free consultation form.
E. coli-HUS from Foundation Farm Raw Milk Sickens Children in Portland, Oregon Area
Attorney Fred Pritzker
Just two months after I argued for more regulations on the sale of raw milk at Harvard Law School, an outbreak of E. coli O157 and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) has hit the Portland, Oregon area that has been linked to raw milk from Foundation Farm in Clackamas County. To date, there are 5 children in Oregon with confirmed cases of E. coli O157, and three of them have HUS, a complication of an E. coli O157 infection that causes kidney failure and a host of other problems that can be fatal. I and my team of E. coli lawyers are currently representing people with E. coli-HUS who were sickened in another outbreak. We are also representing a man who is paralyzed from the neck down after drinking raw milk.
Parents can contact me for a free consultation regarding their child’s legal rights in this situation. Certainly, Foundation Farm has insurance to cover at least some of the medical expenses, other financial losses, pain and suffering compensation, and other damages. My message to parents is twofold:
- The E. coli and HUS risk with raw milk is not well known and sellers of raw milk do not warn their customers. You thought you were providing something healthy for your child because that is what you were told. This is not the time to feel guilty. Call me about this if you just want to talk, no obligation. I have handled cases like yours before.
- Even if you signed an agreement not to sue Foundation Farm, your child did not. There is no shame in suing someone who has injured your child, especially in E. coli O157 cases because they are almost always caused by poor sanitation. Your child will have medical expenses well into the future, and you and your child need help now.
Two children have contracted E. coli O157 infections that did not develop into HUS, and 4 other children and one adult are suffering from severe gastroenteritis (symptomatic of E. coli), with extreme abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea (so violent that it is scary for children) and possibly E. coli-colitis, a serious condition that may require surgery and a colostomy bag.
The cases are in Clackamas, Clark, Multnomah and Washington counties. Foundation Farm distributed to 48 households in the Portland metropolitan area that were part of a herd‐share.
Jimmy Johns Sprouts Caused Previous Outbreaks Too
The Jimmy John’s E. coli outbreak of 2012 is the fourth outbreak of food borne illness since 2008 that public health officials have associated with contaminated sprouts served on sandwiches at the fast-food restaurant chain.
Jimmy John’s officials recognized the problem to the extent that they said last year they would switch from using alfalfa sprouts to clover sprouts because they would be easier to clean. That initiative followed a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella that sickened more than 140 people.
But this time the CDC has identified raw clover sprouts consumed by patrons of Jimmy Johns as the likely cause of 12 E. coli O26 infections in five states: Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Wisconsin. At least two of the food poisoning victims have been hospitalized. The poisonings started on Christmas Day and the most recent, confirmed onset of illness was January 15, but more confirmations could be forthcoming and officials believe it is possible that contaminated clover sprouts from the same seed supply could be in use elsewhere.
Jimmy John’s has declined to comment on the latest outbreak. Lawsuits from Jimmy John’s outbreaks are part of the E. coli litigation history stemming from from more than 30 outbreaks that the CDC has associated with raw or lightly cooked sprouts in the United States in the past 15 years. E. coli in sprouts also caused a major European outbreak last year that killed more than 50 people and sickened more than 4,000.
E. coli contamination of sprouts is a well-known threat that other restaurants have heeded to protect the public. A good E. coli lawyer with years of experience in foodborne illness litigation can help families recover from the harms they suffer in outbreaks.
If you or a family member has fallen ill after eating at Jimmy Johns in the Midwest, call national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information and an attorney will call you. Our firm has recovered tens of millions of dollars over the years for victims of E. coli outbreaks and is one of the very few legal groups in the country practicing extensively in the area of food poisoning outbreak litigation.
The Year in E. coli: Lettuce, strawberries, ground beef, hazelnuts, raw milk, sprouts and more
Fenugreek sprouts mainly eaten on salads caused what is believed to be the largest outbreak on record of E. coli poisoning, killing 50 people in 15 countries and sickening more than 4,000 others. The outbreak was centered in Germany, but the scale was so large the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a special travelers’ alert and explanation.
The organism at the root of the European sprouts outbreak was new, dubbed E. coli O104:H4, and it followed an unusual pattern by mainly affecting adults (instead of young children and the elderly) and taking longer to exhibit symptoms — eight days instead of three or four.
In 2011, the only other outbreak of foodborne illness that came close to being as destructive was the cantaloupe Listeria outbreak that killed 31 people in the U.S. But there were plenty of other highlights in the realm of shiga-toxin producing E. coli. Here is a breakdown of the larger outbreaks provided by the E. coli lawyers at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys. Our firm represents victims of E. coli poisoning across the country and has collected tens of millions of dollars in recoveries for individuals and families who become sick through no fault of their own:
In October, state and federal public health officials discovered that leaves of romaine lettuce served at certain grocery store salad bars in Missouri were associated with a growing number of infections of E. coli O157:H7. When the investigation matured, officials had traced the source of the outbreak to a single farm whose lettuce also was linked to illnesses at university campuses in Minnesota and Missouri. At least 60 people were sickened in 10 states. Missouri was hit hardest and lawsuits have been filed there against Schnucks supermarket chain.
Though it did not go down as a multi-state outbreak tracked publicly by the CDC, the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened attendees of the North Carolina State Fair was exceptionally big and was ultimately traced to one of the fair’s livestock exhibits. At least twenty-seven people were infected.
In August, at least nine people fell ill and one died in another single-state outbreak of toxic E. coli. The illnesses were linked to contaminated strawberries from Oregon’s Jaquith Starwberry Farm.
Ground beef is perenially one of the most common carriers of shiga toxin-producing E. coli and 2011 included a number of large recalls of E. coli-tainted hamburger. In September, Ohio state health authorities reported a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Butler County. An investigation led to the recall of 131,300 pounds of ground beef products from Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., of Emporia, Kansas.
A similar situation occurred in Michigan in July when E. coli O157 was linked to eating ground beef processed and distributed by McNees Meats and Wholesale LLC, a North Branch, Michigan, establishment. A total of five confirmed Shiga-toxin producing E. coli cases and four probable cases were reported in Lapeer, Genesee, Isabella, and Sanilac counties.
Also in July, health officials in Pennsylvania were notified of an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 among swimmers at Cowans Gap State Park near Chambersberg. At least 14 people became infected and the beach was closed for the remainder of the season. At least five of the case patients developed potentially deadly hemolytic uremic children (HUS), a complication including kidney failure that most often affects children under age five and the elderly or immuno-compromised.
In California, the state quarantined and recalled raw milk from Organic Pastures in Fresno County following a notification from the California Department of Public Health that a cluster of five children were infected, from August through October, with the same strain of E. coli O157:H7 as was found in the milk. The children are residents of Contra Costa, Kings, Sacramento, and San Diego counties.
Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and Ohio combined in March to confirm 14 cases of E. coli O157:H7 all from the same strain. An investigation involving federal agencies associated the outbreak with Lebanon bologna — a semi-dry sausage that appears similar to salami. As a result, Palmyra Bologna Company, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, recalled approximately 23,000 pounds of Lebanon bologna products that may have been contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7.
In-shell hazelnuts were implicated in 2011′s first outbreak of E. coli. People in several states had fallen ill starting in December and continuing through Valentine’s Day. As April 1, 2011, eight persons were infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 were reported from Michigan (1), Minnesota (3), and Wisconsin (4). The investigation led to a recall of bulk and consumer-packaged in-shell hazelnuts sold by DeFranco & Sons of Los Angeles. The nuts were sold by retailers nationwide.
Why Would Schnucks Salad Bars Around St. Louis Dominate the Center of an Outbreak of E. coli Infection?
Schnucks salad bar eating was the overwhelming common denominator among sick people in the St. Louis area E. coli outbreak. That’s the preliminary finding by the St. Louis County Department of Health, although there is still more work to do in pinpointing the source.
The association between the outbreak and Schnucks is that an “overwhelming majority” of people who have tested positive for the outbreak strain of E. coli had recently eaten unspecified items from salad bars at various Schnucks locations. National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is in contact with some of those victims for a possible Schnucks E. coli lawsuit.
Schnucks food stores last week were voluntarily replacing lettuce and other items in their salad bars, but it was said to only be a precaution. There has still been no recall of a specific food item in this recall. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has talked to four people who said they were diagnosed with E. coli infections and had eaten produce from salad bars at Schnucks in High Ridge, Ladue, downtown St. Louis and Ballwin.
Why would Schnucks salad bars be at the center of an outbreak of toxic E. coli? While we normally think of fresh produce as healthful food, the industry that provides some of these foods has battled in the past with keeping lettuce, sprouts, cantaloupe, nuts and other items clean-free of potentially deadly human pathogens. Various produce items have been become contaminated in fields from animal feces that flows from runoff or irrigation. In addition, some packing facilities have been found to be unclean. Most investigations find negligence of some kind in the supply chain.
Health investigators are still looking for the cause of the St. Louis E. coli outbreak, but the scientific study has so far landed them at Schnucks. This outbreak is still active and health officials are urging people who experience bloody diarrhea to immediately seek medical attention. Physicians are aware of this outbreak and likely will order the proper tests to confirm whether you or a loved one is a case patient.
Pritzker Olsen has collected millions of dollars in compensation claims for victims of E. coli infection, including those who suffer a potentially lethal complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS. An attorney from out firm has been assigned to investigate this outbreak and accept additional cases. Free case consultations are available at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information and a lawyer will call.
