Arapahoe County Jail E. coli Outbreak in Colorado
Six people housed at the Arapahoe County jail have come down with E. coli poisoning prompting an investigation by the state and Tri-County Health Departments. Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson told News 9 that the jail had six confirmed cases on Friday and 14 inmates have come down with symptoms of E. coli. One inmate had to be treated at the hospital for dehydration, which if severe enough can cause high blood pressure and other complications. All of the people sickened lived in Pod 3.
The source of the outbreak is not yet known, and in cases like this involving inmates, it is best for families to hire an E. coli lawyer to help with the investigation and to protect the E. coli victims’ rights. Contact our E. coli lawyers for a free consultation.
Source: http://www.9news.com/news/local/article/228582/346/E-coli-outbreak-in-county-jail
E. coli Poisoning and Dyspepsia
Below, E. coli Attorney Fred Pritzker discusses how E. coli victims have a greater risk of developing dyspepsia even if they “fully recovered” from their E. coli infection.
Dyspepsia is the medical term for indigestion and is characterized by pain, bloating, stomach discomfort and vomiting.
Many of our clients sickened byE. coli O157 have dyspepsia long after the passing of their acute illness. Is there a relationship between these symptoms and the initial illness? Emerging medical studies offer strong evidence of just such a connection.
In 2000 there was a massive water-borne E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Walkerton, Ontario, Canada. The only good thing to come of it was the unprecedented opportunity to study the long-terms effects on those individuals exposed to bacterial dysentery. One such recent study, “Prevalence of Uninvestigated Dyspepsia 8 Years After a Large Waterborne Outbreak of Bacterial Dysentery: A Cohort Study,” published in the journal, Gastroenterology, concluded:
This 8-year study has demonstrated a greater than 2-fold increase in the prevalence of dyspepsia in subjects exposed to acute gastroenteritis compared with nonexposed individuals, suggesting that acute enteric infections have the ability to trigger symptoms that affect the upper, as well as the lower GI tract, with long-lasting consequences.
Emerging medical literature is showing that dyspepsia, decreased kidney function, high blood pressure and allied medical problems are long-term consequences of E. coli O157:H7 even in those individuals who were previously thought to have made a full recovery.
Ground beef E. coli O157:H7 Recall in 2011
So far in 2011, USDA has announced just one ground beef products recall for E. coli O157:H7. There was no ground beef E. coli outbreak associated with the March recall of Creekstone Farms Premium Beef chubs, but USDA urged consumers who were concerned about illness to contact their health care provider. No subsequent announcements of any outbreak was ever made.
E. coli O157:H7 is banned by the federal government from hamburger because the bacteria is highly toxic and can rest in the middle of a hamburger or meatball, where the organisms easily survive in undercooked meat. Obviously, that measure hasn’t stopped ground beef E. coli outbreaks from happening. In July 2009, for instance, state and federal health officials announced a multi-state E. coli O157:H7 outbreak and recall of 380,000 pounds of beef cuts from JBS Swift Beef Co. designed for grinding into hamburgers. At least 23 people in nine states were sickened, including 12 who were hospitalized and two who developed HUS.
Because E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef is a classified adulterant, you and your family have special legal rights to press for recoveries against the meatpacker and other companies in the supply chain who sold the adulterated product. National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is currently representing ground beef E. coli victims and is considered a leading representative of all victims of food poisoning. As one of the few firms in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness, we have recovered tens of millions of dollars for the families who have suffered injury and loss.
To contact an E. coli lawyer at Pritzker Olsen for a free case consultation, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete one of our online contact forms with information about your case. Our law firm does not get paid until you win.
E. coli O157:H7, a pathogen that produces dangerous Shiga toxin once anchored in a person’s intestines. In 8-15 percent of infections, patients develop HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe disease that results in death about 5 percent of the time. Tragically, children under 5 are in the age group most affected by HUS.
Creekstone Farms of Arkansas City, Kansas, sold the 10-pound chubs of beef to outlets in Arizona, California, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington for further processing into ground beef. Each case label was marked with the USDA establishment number “EST. 27″. The Creekstone Farms recall, announced March 8, covered 14,578 pounds of ground beef products. The problem was discovered through third party lab results.
In 2010, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC was in the news for a different reason. On June 17, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the meatpacker for allegedly exposing workers to a potential catastrophic release of ammonia at its meat processing facility.
OSHA’s inspection, initiated in December 2009, found 20 alleged serious violations and one alleged repeat violation. The serious violations primarily stem from hazardous deficiencies in the company’s process safety management of the ammonia refrigeration system. The repeat violation stems from a failure to provide machine guarding to protect employees from amputation hazards created by rotating and moving parts of a saw. In addition, machine guarding was not adequate for dumpers or packing machines. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facilities in federal enforcement states within the last three years.
Method Improved for Finding E. coli in Water
A team of USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Georgia have combined techniques to better detect E. coli and other pathogens in waterways. E. coli O157:H7 is one of the most dangerous of all foodborne pathogens in a country where one in six people are afflicted annually with some sort of food poisoning. Other types of shiga toxin-producing E. coli bacteria are equally dangerous, though not as prevalent.
People can become infected with E. coli by the water they drink or swim in. But E. coli in water also can cause large outbreaks of illness when it contaminates produce during irrigation, flooding or in runoff. Just last year the government investigated an outbreak of lettuce E. coli O145 in five Midwestern states that was traced back to romaine lettuce grown near Yuma, Arizona. No hard conclusions were reached as to how the lettuce became contaminated, but part of the investigation involved E. coli water sampling in a storm water retention pond and an irrigation canal. The outbreak sickened 33 people.
Another 2010 E. coli outbreak involved water at Fralo’s Art of Pizza in San Antonio, Texas. In that outbreak, dozens of people became sick and the restaurant shut down temporarily because of a contaminated water supply.
The ARS field research into better collection methods occurred at the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Natural Resource Conservation Center in Watkinsville, Georgia. Similar methods have been developed to detect pathogenic E. coli in meat products, but the team’s approach represents a first for waterways.
For water sampling, traditional methods have involved looking for indicator pathogens because it is too hard to detect E. coli and Salmonella bacteria themselves because they are so dispersed. But it takes just 100 cells of Salmonella or 10–100 cells of E. coli O157:H7 to cause illness. The goal was to to be able to use the pathogens themselves in assessing the contamination, instead of the indicator organisms.
The researchers used a water-filtration technique to concentrate the pathogens; a special medium for growing and measuring the number of pathogenic cells; a biochemical testing process; and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology, a molecular identification technique often used to increase or magnify a small sample of DNA. The results were more effective for isolating E. coli and Salmonella in water and the finding is considered a breakthrough for all public health investigators.
National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys represents victims of water E. coli outbreaks and all other serious foodborne illness outbreaks where there is an identified source of contamination. If you or a loved one has been sickened by E. coli O157:H7 or other shiga toxin-producing type of E. coli (STEC), contact an E. coli lawyer at our firm for any questions you have about pursuing a legal claim. Free case consultations are provided by calling the firm 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by completing our contact form.
E coli Cases Linked to NW Michigan Fair Grand Traverse County
The Grand Traverse County Health Department reported three cases of shiga toxin-producing E coli. The victims are all children and they range in age from 5 to 15 years-old. The one thing all three kids have in common is that they all attended the Northwestern Michigan Fair, in Grand Traverse County, August 9-13.
The three cases were diagnosed as probable E coli infections between August 15-17 when the children were treated for symptoms of E coli, including bloody diarrhea. One of the children is still hospitalized.
Shiga toxin-producing E coli is a type of enterohemorrhagic E coli bacteria that can cause illness ranging from mild intestinal disease to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and kidney failure. Typically, symptoms of E coli include severe abdominal cramping, watery or bloody diarrhea, and sometimes vomiting, lethargy and a low-grade fever.
E coli is frequently associated with the consumption of raw milk, unpasteurized apple juice or undercooked beef, but it can be spread through fecal contamination and oral transmission.
Hemolytic uremic syndrome is characterized by damage and destruction of the red blood cells, which leads to anemia, blood clots and damage to blood vessel walls. HUS generally occurs around the eighth day after an E coli infection presents as diarrhea.
Children are at the greatest risk of developing HUS. Approximately 15% of children under ten who contract an E coli infection develop HUS.
E coli 0157 causes about 90% of all HUS cases. In several E coli outbreaks, people who received antibiotics had a higher risk of kidney failure or death. If E coli O157 is found in the culture, the CDC recommends avoiding treatment with antibiotics.
E coli poisoning has the potential for serious complications. It is vital to retain experienced representation to ensure that you obtain the needed and deserved compensation.
PritzkerOlsen, P.A. is a leading E coli litigation law firm. Fred Pritzker has been interviewed by CNN, CBS News, Fox News, Associated Press and others. Once retained, we will immediately start our own investigation into your case. Call 1-888-377-8900 or submit our online consultation form.
