E. coli lawyer Fred Pritzker is investigating The Ambassador restaurant E. coli outbreak that sickened at least seven people, including four who were hospitalized. The infected customers ate at the restaurant around Christmas. Others who became ill with diarrhea after eating at the restaurant are encouraged to report their experience to an attorney or the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department.

E. coli O157:H7, the pathogen transmitted by the restaurant worker, is a potentially deadly bacterium that causes hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Both of these diseases shut down a person’s kidneys and can lead to other severe illness, including strokes, anemia, heart attack and paralysis.

A study on file with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that transmission of pathogens from food workers to the food they handle is implicated as a contributing factor in approximately 20 percent of foodborne illness outbreaks. The study authors interviewed food workers in nine states and found that 12 percent of them had worked while suffering from vomiting or diarrhea on two or more shifts in the previous year. Factors associated with workers having worked while experiencing vomiting or diarrhea were:

1. High volume of meals served.
2. Lack of policies requiring workers to report illness to managers.
3. Lack of on-call workers.
4. Lack of manager experience.

The findings of this study and others suggest that policies that encourage workers to tell managers when they are ill can help mitigate pressures to work.

Regulations vary with jurisdictions, but it is the responsibility of restaurant owners to train staff members to stay away from work while they are sick. In cases where the workers are confirmed to be infected with E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella or Hepatitis A, they should be tested by a health care provider before they are cleared to return to work.

Any Ambassador E. coli lawsuit stemming from this outbreak will examine what policies were in place at the restaurant and whether reporting mandates from the local or state health departments were followed.

If you or a loved on was sickened in this outbreak, call Mr. Pritzker at 1-888-377-8900 or leave your contact information and he or another attorney from the firm will call you. The law firm he founded, Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, is one of the very few legal groups in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. We have collected millions for victims of restaurant outbreaks and have represented Michigan and Wisconsin clients in numerous cases. Our law firm does not charge its clients until a claim is won for them.

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

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.

That’s the word from Hershey Medical Center spokesman Scott Gilbert, who told about the unusually high number of HUS cases in children in an interview with Jim Tuttle of Public Opinion in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Three children with HUS are currently being treated at the medical center, including one who swam at Cowan’s Gap, Gilbert said.

In the Cowan’s Gap E. coli investigation, 15 people who swam in the lake during July have been identified as case patients. The park’s swimming facility has been closed and will not reopen this season, but a boil water advisory there has been lifted. People have returned to camping, fishing and using the park, but not in great numbers.

Christine Cronkright, Pennsylvania Department of Health, said the source of contamination has not been determined. “We can tell you that all of the tests that Department of Health conducted for E. coli 0157 at the lake came back negative,” she wrote in an e-mail to Public Opinion.

State and local E. coli investigators continue to look for the cause of this outbreak, which could possibly result in HUS litigation if a scientific explanation can be found. Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, a leading E. coli law firm representing outbreak victims, also is investigating and accepting clients who are deserving of answers. Compensation would be due to them if the bacterial source is the result of negligence. Free E. coli case consultations are available by submitting contact information online or calling a lawyer at the firm’s main line 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free).

Our HUS law firm is a leading, nationally recognized legal group for families whose loved ones have contracted foodborne infections of Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli such as E. coli O157:H7 that lead to HUS and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). That is why a recent study in Scotland caught our attention.

The study by health officials in that country illustrates the potential for increased severity of HUS from E. coli O26 infection in children. “We suggest that infection with E. coli O26 in children can result in more severe and complicated forms of HUS than those caused by E. coli O157.” In contrast to another European study, the Scots found that there was a significant difference in neurologic complications between the two groups.

Although initial signs and symptoms were similar for both sets of cases — bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain — statistical analysis showed that children with O26-HUS were more likely to have neurologic complications and diabetes and require admission to the intensive care unit than O157-HUS patients.

Also, O26-HUS patients had significantly longer periods of anuria than O157-HUS patients and were more likely to require treatment with hemofiltration than with hemodialysis. One patient with O26-HUS also experienced serious heart injury: cardiomyopathy resulting in reduced left ventricular function.

“Our study was limited by the small number of patients with pediatric O26-HUS. However, given the severity of the complications experienced by the children in this cohort, we believe it is necessary to communicate these findings promptly to the international community,” the study authors wrote in findings republished this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Outbreaks of foodpoisoning that result in HUS from any type of E. coli result in burdensome medical expenses, lost time from work, travel and daycare expenses, future earnings loss, future medical problems and pain and suffering. To hold purveyors of contaminated food accountable for the harms they cause, E. coli HUS lawsuits often are necessary and beneficial to the cause of food safety.The courts provide an effective check-and-balance system — sending a message that real-life penalties for negligence go beyond civil fines that regulators can impose. For free HUS case consultations, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or submit contact information online and a lawyer will respond to you directly.

The Pennsylvania hospital’s spokesman told the Record Herald newspaper in Waynesboro that there have been no new cases reported at Hershey in the last week. The medical center has treated eight patients in the last month for HUS. Five of them had ties to Cowans Gap, the spokesman said. So far, 14 cases of E. coli O157:H7 — 11 from Pennsylvania and three from Maryland — have been reported. All of them swam in the 42-acre lake at Cowans Gap between July 12 and July 31 and became ill a short time later. Of the Pennsylvania cases, six people are from Franklin County, four from Lancaster County and one from Huntingdon County, according to the newspaper. The Pennsylvania Department of Health is investigating and national E. coli lawyers at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys are monitoring the investigation on behalf of victims.

The lake closed August 9 due to the outbreak and has now reopened to boating and fishing. A different strain of E. coli was found in one of two wells at the park last week and a boil water notice was put in place Wednesday. The notice was lifted Sunday morning after “a string of good test results.”

HUS E. coli is a life-threatening condition in which the body’s red blood cells are fragmented by Shiga toxin, causing blocked circulation in the kidneys and elsewhere or bleeding in the brain. It predominantly causes kidney failure and most often affects children under 5, but people of all ages — including healthy young adults — can contract the disease and face death or dire illness, including paralysis or other central nervous system disorders. HUS can cause convulsions, strokes, severe anemia, vascular injury, heart problems and other serious health problems — both acute and long-term. Once an infection from a type of E. coli that emits a Shiga toxin has been established, no therapeutic interventions are available to lessen the risk of HUS from developing.

HUS symptoms 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. HUS signs usually begin as the initial diarrhea from E. coli infection is improving.

The finding was announced by state public health officials. Those same experts have identified where the berries were sold — at roadside stands and farmers’ markets instead of mainstream grocery stores.

National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys has monitored this outbreak and is accepting cases from individuals and families affected by the tainted produce. Oregon’s epidemiologists did testing in the fields at Jaquith Farms in Newberg to determine that feces from roaming deer carried the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7.

The contaminated berries were off the market by August 1, but our firm has seen many examples of people getting sick months later by eating adulterated food that has been sitting in freezers, or in this case, jams. Cooking, however, kills foodborne pathogens.

According to the Oregonian, seven people were hospitalized in the outbreak and three suffered kidney failure. Those cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (E. coli HUS) or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (E. coli TTP) are not only life threatening in the short-term, but they present life-long health concerns — including vascular injury — that a physician must monitor and treat on an annual basis.

Wildlife droppings are a known threat to food safety in the produce industry and best practices are prescribed to minimize the risk and control it. Conditions and practices at Jaquith will be srutinized not only by health and agriculture officials, but by E. coli investigators at Pritzker Olsen. Our firm is one of the very few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation, holding purveyors of produce, meat and other food accountable for impurities that can kill or hospitalize consumers. These outbreaks are preventable.

To contact an E. coli lawyer with years of experience in E. coli litigation, send contact information or call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) for a case consultation — no fees. Our legal team has collected tens of millions of dollars for E. coli victims across the country and we are actively involved in numerous efforts to prevent food poisoning outbreaks and strengthen food safety in the U.S.

The European Commission is keeping a very close watch on the situation, which also has the close attention of foodborne illness experts in the United States, including leading E. coli lawyer Fred Pritzker.

An active HUS E. coli outbreak has extended from northern Germany into Sweden, the UK and other western European countries. All together, more than 800 people have been infected and about a third of them have contracted E. coli HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome, a life-threatening infectious disease that causes renal failure, strokes, anemia, central nervous system disorders and heart problems by fragmenting a person’s red blood cells and disrupting normal blood flow.

Children under the age of 5 are most susceptible to HUS. The elderly, cancer patients and other people who have weakened immune systems also are at high risk, but E. coli infections that lead to HUS can strike people of any age, including healthy adults. Negative effects linger throughout a person’s lifetime as a result of vascular injuries

E. coli O104 is one of  many non-O157:H7 types of E. coli that emit powerful Shiga toxin, which attack a person’s hemoglobin. Since the early 1980s, Escherichia coli has been recognized as a cause of diarrhea and hemorrhagic colitis. While it is now recognized that E. coli strains belonging to a variety of serotypes can cause HUS, O157:H7 is the dominant EC serotype in many parts of the world and has been the type most commonly associated with foodborne outbreaks.

Minnesota child HUS cases dominated all HUS cases in the state by a measure of 13 of 16 cases in 2009, the most recent year for which figures were available when this post was written. There were no fatal cases in that year. All 16 cases were hospitalized, with a median hospital stay of 9 days. The longest stay was 43 days. In 2009, the median age of Minnesota HUS cases was 3 years.

E. coli O157:H7 infections were confirmed as the cause in the majority of Minnesota HUS case in 2009 and five of the HUS illnesses in that year occurred as part of foodborne illness outbreaks, according to MDH. Two of the cases involved non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains: E. coli O111:NM and E. coli O121:H19.

According to the report, 2009 was a typical year, although no one died. From 1997 to 2009, the median annual number of reported HUS cases in Minnesota was 16  and the overall case fatality rate was 6 percent.

HUS stands for hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition in which powerful Shiga toxins attack a person’s red blood cells, fragmenting them and causing kidney failure, stroke, anemia, central nervous system disorder and other severe harms. HUS is the leading cause of E. coli death and commonly inflicts lasting damage, even in milder cases.

Minnesota HUS lawyer Fred Pritzker has dedicated a large part of his practice every year to holding food purveyors and insurance companies accountable for E. coli contamination that leads to HUS and many other forms of serious foodborne illness. He knows first hand how often child HUS cases strike in Minnesota and elsewhere and what human suffering and family angst is associated with those illnesses.

Mr. Pritzker’s legal group, Pritzker Olson attorneys 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free), is based in Minneapolis but represents HUS E. coli victims throughout the United States, winning tens of millions of dollars for individuals and families who became sick from food they believed was safe. Besides getting involved in practically every major outbreak of food poisoning as a representative for victims, the Pritzker law firm is actively involved in numerous efforts to prevent foodborne illness, which sickens one in six Americans every year. Free case consultations can be initiated with an E. coli HUS food poisoning contact form.

Local, state and federal public health officials rely on doctors to detect outbreaks of E. coli HUS, a process that makes it critically important for people who believe they have been sickened by E. coli O157:H7 or other type of food poisoning to see a physician and submit a stool sample or other test. The doctor’s office sends the patient’s sample to a clinical laboratory. If a gastric pathogen is found, a state lab does further tests on the bacteria, including DNA fingerprinting.
State labs report their DNA results to the PulseNet database where health officials look for patterns and clusters of illnesses caused by the same bacteria. If investigated successfully, clusters can inform the public of an outbreak tied to a particular food.

The importance of detecting outbreaks of E. coli HUS is apparent every time a person is hospitalized for treatment of hemolytic uremic syndrome or a related condition known as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). HUS 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.

HUS lawsuits are sometimes necessary to hold purveyors of contaminated food accountable for diseases that are entirely preventable. The costs of treating an HUS patient are enormous and the harms can multiply if an illness leads to a chronic condition or permanent injury that disables a person from enjoying his or her way of life.

Attorneys at national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen are deeply experienced in E. coli HUS litigation and represent victims in practically all major outbreaks of E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria and other types of food poisoning. Contact the firm online for a free case consultation or call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) with your questions about pursuing a claim.