Purple Poop? Pigment Producing E.coli As BioSensors
What do you get when one artist, one designer and seven Cambridge University biology undergraduates engineer a new strain of E.coli? Purple poop.
Actually, colored poop is just one of a rainbow of potential applications for E. chromi, an engineered strain of E. coli that secretes color in the presence of pollutants. E. coli bacteria are sensitive to environmental pollutants. When the team of artists and scientists equipped them with a pigment-producing device that switches on in the presence of various toxins, they created a way to use bacteria as an inexpensive, user-friendly biosensor.
Potential applications include a cheap disposable biosensor for arsenic and probiotic drink that would alert patients to possible ailments by coloring their poop. A purple output, for example, may indicate the presence of a Salmonella infection.
E. chromi won MIT’s International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition in 2009, was a finalist for the 2011 Index Awards, and a winner of the 2011 World Technology Awards. Although it may sound unusual, this isn’t the only example of a bacterial biosensor. Scientists at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) recently attached a fluorescent protein to some E.coli and synchronized the colony to flash on and off like a neon sign. When the blinking colony detected low levels of arsenic, it slowed its rate of flashing.
Romaine Lettuce From Salad Bars At St Louis Schnucks Stores, Minnesota and Missouri Universities Linked to 60-Person E. coli Outbreak
Romaine Lettuce is the likely source of an E. coli outbreak that sickened 60 people in 10 states, according to a report 
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The outbreak, which initially was thought to have stricken 37 salad bar customers at Schnucks grocery stores in the St. Louis area, was linked to a single lot of Romaine lettuce grown on a California farm.
The search for the source has been ongoing sine the outbreak began on October 10. Because multiple tests at various Schnucks locations never revealed the presence of E.coli, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the traceback investigation to include suppliers and distributors of the grocery chain.
Working with several state agencies, the FDA conducted traceback investigations for romaine lettuce to try to identify the source of contamination. Traceback analysis determined that a single common lot of romaine lettuce harvested from a California farm was used to supply the Schnucks grocery store chain as well as the university campus in Minnesota during the time of the illnesses. The same lot was also provided to a distributor that supplied lettuce to the university campus in Missouri, but records were not sufficient to determine if this lot was sent to this university campus.
As of November 30, 2011, 60 people had been infected with the same strain of E. coli 0157:H7. The confirmed illnesses by state are as follows: Arizona (1), Arkansas (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (9), Indiana (2), Kansas (3), Kentucky (1), Minnesota (3), Missouri (37), and Nebraska (1).
An E.coli infection can create serious illness. Most people infected with E. coli O157:H7 develop bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps 2-8 days after swallowing the organism, but some illnesses last longer and are more severe. A type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) can begin as the diarrhea is improving; this condition can occur among persons of any age but is most common in children under 5 years old and the elderly. Signs and symptoms of HUS may include fever, abdominal pain, pale skin tone, fatigue and irritability, small, unexplained bruises or bleeding from the nose and mouth, decreased urination, and swelling of the face, hands, feet, or entire body. Persons who experience these symptoms and believe they are at risk for HUS should seek emergency medical care immediately.
Anyone with legal questions about an illness or hospitalization associated with this outbreak should contact the foodborne illness attorneys at PritzkerOlsen for a free consultation.
Possible Wake County, NC E. coli Outbreak
Wake County, North Carolina is investigating seven confirmed cases of E. coli. Health officials are gathering and analyzing epidemiological and microbiological evidence to determine if there is any possible link between the cases, and whether there are additional cases.
If you have bloody stools, abdominal cramps, and other symptoms of E. coli, you need to contact your doctor immediately. You may have an E. coli infection. You need to make sure that your doctor gets a stool sample and has it tested specifically for E. coli O157:H7 and other pathogenic strains of E. coli bacteria. If you test positive, E. coli cultures from the stool sample will need to have genetic-fingerprinting tests done on them. You need to make your doctor aware of this.
For more information about E. coli testing and protecting your legal rights, contact our law firm for a free consultation.
Tyson E. coli Ground Beef Recall Retailer List Includes Kroger, Save-A-Lot, Supervalu and Others
Below is the USDA-FSIS list of retailers who received recalled Tyson ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. There may be other retailers who received the recalled beef. The recalled Tyson ground beef has sickened some people in Butler County, Ohio. E. coli can cause serious complications, including hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
Nationwide, State-Wide, or Area-Wide Distribution
Food 4 Less Stores in IL and IN
Food Lion Stores in FL, GA, NC, SC, VA, WV
Harvey’s Stores in FL, GA, SC
Jay-C Food stores in IN
Kroger Stores in AR, IL, IN, KY, MI, MS, MO, OH, TN
Payless Super Market Stores in IN
Reid’s Stores in SC
Ruler Food Stores in IN
Save-A-Lot Stores East of the Rocky Mountains
Scott’s Stores in IN
Supervalu Stores NationwideDelaware
Dover AFB in Dover DelawareIllinois
Hilander, 2206 Barnes Blvd, Rockford IL-Illinois
Hilander, 3134 11th Street, Rockford IL-Illinois
Hilander, 2514 S. Alpine Rd., Rockford IL-Illinois
Hilander, 2601 N. Mulford Rd., Rockford IL-Illinois
Hilander, 3710 N. Main St., Rockford, IL-Illinois
Hilander, 1715 Rural St., Rockford IL-Illinois
Hilander, 4860 Hononegah Rd., Roscoe IL-IllinoisIndiana
Payless Super Market, 1845 N. Scatterfield Rd., Anderson IN-Indiana
Payless Super Market, 1900 Applewood Center Dr., Anderson IN-Indiana
Payless Super Market, 3050 Meridian, Anderson IN-Indiana
Ruler Food Store, 624 E. 16th St.,Bedford IN-Indiana
Ruler Food Store, 360 E. Main St., Bloomfield IN-Indiana
Owen’s, 1245 S. Jefferson, Huntington IN-Indiana
Owen’s, 2718 Guilford, Huntington IN-Indiana
Payless Super Market, 65 Beck Lane, Lafayette IN-Indiana
Payless Super Market, 2513 Maple Point Dr., Lafayette IN-Indiana
Owen’s, 903 Lincolnway S., Ligonier IN-Indiana
Ruler Food Store, 600 West Broadway St., Loogootee IN-Indiana
Ruler Food Store, 120 E. 2nd St., Madison IN-Indiana
Ruler Food Store, 1307 West Main St., Mitchell IN-Indiana
Ruler Food Store, 1503 West Broadway, Princeton IN-Indiana
Ruler Food Store, 805 S. Main St., Salem IN-Indiana
Owen’s, 302 W. Market, Warsaw IN-Indiana
Owen’s, 2211 E Center St., Warsaw IN-Indiana
Payless Super Market, 1032 Sagamore Pkwy West, West Lafayette IN-IndianaNorth Carolina
Bottom Dollar, 1327 E. Dixie Drive, Asheboro NC-North Carolina
Bottom Dollar, 1810 Hwy 64-70 S.E., Hickory NC-North Carolina
Bottom Dollar, 3136 E. Kivett Drive, High Point NC-North Carolina
Bottom Dollar, 235 East Plaza Drive, Mooresville NC-North Carolina
Bottom Dollar, 1136 W. Pine Street, Mount Airy NC-North Carolina
Cincinnati, Ohio E. coli O157:H7 Illnesses Linked to J.B. Meats Ground Beef and Hamburger Patties
After Cincinnati, Ohio health officials found a possible link between two cases of E. coli O157:H7 and hamburgers processed by J.B. Meats and served at area restaurants, the company recalled about 72,800 pounds of ground beef and hamburger patties due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7. The products subject to the J.B. Meats recall are 5 and 10 pound clear packages of ground beef and ground beef patties in various size packages that were processed on and can be identified by the dates Aug. 18, 2010 through Aug. 18, 2011. J.B. Meats is a Cincinnati, Ohio establishment.
The recalled ground beef and hamburger patties were sold to restaurants in the Cincinnati area, but the company did not say which restaurants. Each clear plastic bag and label bear the establishment number “EST. 1188” within the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s mark of inspection.
J.B. Meats said it was notified on Aug. 12 of an investigation of two E. coli O157:H7 illnesses. The Cincinnati Health Department reported there were two patients who became ill on July 20 and 21 that may have resulted from ground beef consumed on July 16 and 17, the company said.
Epidemiological and microbiological evidence points to a possible link between the ground beef products produced by J.B. Meats on July 15 and the illnesses in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company said the recall is precautionary, as there has been no conclusive link between the illnesses and the ground beef produced at the facility.
E. coli O157 can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), both severe illnesses that can cause kidney failure, central nervous system damage (seizures, stroke, paralysis, etc.), heart failure, pancreatitis and death.
