The Ambassador’s outbreak was announced by Dr. Terry Frankovich, an area medical director. The public health investigation is being conducted by the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department, she said, and officials suspect others could have become ill and not realized they were part of an outbreak.

The Ambassador has remained open for business and has been working in cooperation with authorities. E. coli O157:H7 is a feared pathogen that can cause life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which happens in about 8 percent of cases. HUS victims lose kidney function and often require blood transfusions. HUS also can cause stroke, heart attack, attacks on the central nervous system and severe anemia.
Studies have shown that even mild E. coli infections can carry negative health reprecussions throughout a person’s life. A good E. coli lawyer will seek claim compensation full enough to fairly cover victims for all past and future harms.

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.

The boy’s name is Hunter Tallent.  A story in the local newspaper explains how he was diagnosed with E. coli poisoning after a family trip to the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh. As of Tuesday, Hunter still had no kidney function after more than a week of treatments. The family learned October 24 that Hunter was infected with E. coli poisoning and had developed a life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, that is most common in children under the age of 5.

“They immediately said he’s got to go, his kidneys are failing,” mother Lindsay Tallent  told The Shelby Star newspaper. “My heart hit the floor. We thought maybe he got dehydrated…needed a few bags of fluid and would be home in a couple of hours.”

The young boy contracted the illness at the N.C. State Fair in Raleigh, which public health investigators have linked to the outbreak. About two dozen people have been confirmed as victims, including Hunter. Scientists are still trying to determine whether the outbreak was caused by contaminated food or an animal exhibit.

Community support from the people in Cleveland County has been a real lift, spiritually, for Hunter and his family.

“We’re just having to wait and watch and hope and pray,” his mother said.

Source: Shelby Star

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.

State health officials are trying to pinpoint what caused at least 25 people to be sickened with a toxic form of E. coli that left at least four children hospitalized with kidney failure and possibly other symptoms of life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS. E. coli HUS is a complication of E. coli infection that most often affects children under 5.

This outbreak may have been caused by a food contaminated by E. coli or contact with animals at one of the fair’s many exhibits. To help investigators identify the source, they need to talk to some fair attendees who didn’t get sick. If you fill out a survey, you may get a followup call from an E. coli investigator. This is excellent public health service for those who who study outbreaks and try to prevent them.

NC State Fair Lawsuit

E. coli lawyers at national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys are conducting a separate investigation for a North Carolina E. coli lawsuit on behalf of vicitims. Our law firm has collected tens of millions of dollars for E. coli outbreak victims in every corner of the U.S. This complex area of law requires attention to detail and experience in negotiations with meatpackers, food companies, restaurants, event managers and grocery stores who need to be held accountable for any negligence. Experience shows that outbreaks of food poisoning are preventable. For free case consultations, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information online and an attorney will call you.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Missouri state health officials are assisting in the investigation to determine what food is spreading a pathogen that Dr. Dolores J. Gunn of the St. Louis County Department of Health described as toxic and virulent. Sixteen of the cases were confirmed this week in less than 72 hours.

Grocery store salad bars are being looked at as one focal point of the investigation and Schnucks has voluntarily removed some produce items as a precaution. No recalls have been announced. Health officials are urging parents to go straight to the emergency room with any children who get sick with bloody diarrhea, a signature symptom of toxic E. coli poisoning. Children under 5 are most susceptible to a complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Kidney failure, stroke, severe anemia, heart problems and paralysis are among the hazards of HUS.

An E. coli  lawyer from Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, a national food poisoning law firm, is in contact with victims of the St. Louis E. coli outbreak for filing a lawsuit. Free case consultations are provided at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information and our attorney will call you. Pritzker Olsen has collected millions of dollars for E. coli victims in claims settlements and courtroom litigation that can be extremely complicated. The firm also is actively involved in multiple efforts to prevent outbreaks of food poisoning. Our clients have testified before Congress on the need to clean up the U.S. food supply and hold wrongdoers accountable for deaths and other harms.

Six of the case patients  have been hospitalized and treated at Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur, a county health department spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for Schnucks told a news reporter that the grocery store chain has pulled some items from its salad bar, but only out of an abundance of caution and not because they were required to do so. Lettuce and strawberries were among the pulled items, the Schnucks spokeswoman she said.

No recalls have been announced in connection with this outbreak but the county health director, Dr. Dolores J. Gunn, is continuing to urge parents to bring any child who has bloody diarrhea to a hospital emergency room for treatment and testing. Children under age 5 are most susceptible to a life-threatening complication of E. coli infection known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS E. coli, but the disease also can strike healthy adults.

An E. coli lawyer at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys has been assigned to investigate the St. Louis County outbreak as part of the firm’s response on the side of victims. Our law firm has collected millions of dollars for E. coli patients in outbreaks where the bacteria was traced back to a food product, restaurant or food store. Free case consultations are available at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information online and an attorney will call you.

For those who are not familiar with HUS, it is a life-threatening illness that often causes kidney failure, pancreatitis and extremely high blood pressure. These, in turn, cause additional health problems, including stroke, blindness and heart attacks. These children are fighting for their lives.

The source of this outbreak needs to be found to prevent further illness and to give the parents of these HUS victims the information they need to hold those responsible accountable. Our experience is that these daycare-associated outbreaks are generally caused by contaminated food, but there have been cases where contaminated water or a trip to a petting zoo have been the source of the outbreak.

In July, an outbreak of E. coli O157 in Michigan 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.

Last year, a Michigan E. coli outbreak was linked to contaminated lettuce. E. coli bacteria can colonize within the leaf, making it impossible to wash off.

When our law firm takes a day care E. coli HUS case, we immediately begin an independent investigation into the outbreak. We have access to some of the countries best epidemiologists and food safety experts to assist us with the investigation. We know parents do not have the financial resources to pay for this up front, so we are not paid unless the family wins money from those responsible for the illness.

Attorney Fred Pritzker and his team of E. coli lawyers represent E. coli victims throughout the United States. They have won money for E. coli victims in Michigan. Cities near Maple Rapids, MI, include Grand Rapids, Lansing, Mt. Pleasant, Flint and Saginaw.

The outbreak started last week for Jasmine Bell, 23, a downtown St. Louis deli worker who was hospitalized with gastrointestinal illness. Her father, James Bell of Florissant, told a reporter that her case has been confirmed as an E. coli infection and she may be released soon from Christian Hospital in North St. Louis County. So far, traceback efforts have not identified a food source for the outbreak but an epidemiological investigation is in full swing.

Meanwhile, St. Louis area physicians have been alerted to the outbreak and St. Louis County Health Department Director Dr. Dolores J. Gunn is urging parents to take any child who has bloody diarrhea straight to a hospital emergency room. Children under 5 are most at risk for a life-threatening complication of E. coli infection known as E. coli HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome. Kidney failure is a hallmark of this disease, but it also can disrupt brain, heart and central nervous system funtions.

E. coli litigation could result from this outbreak in St. Louis County. Pritzker Olsen Attorneys has collected millions of dollars for victims of E. coli and is accepting cases in free consultation at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). Our firm is one of the very few legal groups in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and attorney Fred Pritzker, the firm’s founder and president, is frequently quoted in national media reports on the subject.