E. coli O111 Outbreak In Colorado Prison
Two recent outbreaks of E. coli O111 and E. coli O145 have drawn attention to these two lesser-known but equally harmful types of E. coli. The “E.coli” with which most people are familiar is E. coli O157:H7. It is the only type of E. coli that’s regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture but it is certainly not the only dangerous type of this pathogen.
An E. coli O111 outbreak was discovered April 22 at Four Mile Prison in Canon City, Colorado, according to statements released by the Colorado Department of Corrections. Three inmates have become sick from this pathogen and eight more could be involved in the outbreak too, said Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti. The state DOC and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment have been working together to investigate the outbreak. There is no evidence of poor health conditions in the prison’s kitchen facilities, according to preliminary investigations.
E. coli outbreaks are often spread through animal fecal matter, such as that of cattle and other livestock, that contaminates food and water sources surrounding the area where the livestock are kept. The prison does operate a dairy, however, officials say none of the inmates who are sick ever worked at the dairy.
The second outbreak of E. coli O145 continues to grow, and has now sickened people in Ohio, New York and Michigan. The food safety lawyers at Pritzker Olsen continue to monitor health department and news reports.
E. coli O111 Death
The USDA announced this week an ongoing plan to collect data on the prevalence of non-O157:H7 E. coli contamination. The USDA routinely checks for O157:H7 contamination, and focuses the majority of its efforts to combat the bacteria, due to its harmful and often fatal characteristics. One of the strains of E. coli to be tested for is the O111 strain, the same strain that led to the death of Kayla Boner.
Kayla, a 14 year old Iowan, first developed diarrhea, followed the shutting down of her kidneys, which ultimately led to her death. E. coli O111 infection was the cause of death, but it has not been determined how she became infected with the bacteria.
According to the Des Moines Register:
“Why hasn’t the meat ever been tested for this? This is something that my kid died for,” said Dana Boner. “It makes me angry that no one ever checks for that.”
USDA officials aren’t sure how prevalent O111 and the other non-O157 strains are but said that reports of illnesses are increasing.
Although strains of E. coli other that O157 can cause serious illness, such as Kayla’s, representatives from the meat industry still oppose the USDA’s plan to start testing for different bacteria. We support the USDA testing program and urge the USDA to take all measures to protect consumers from meat contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and non-O157 E. coli.
Non-0157 E. coli
The USDA will be taking greater actions to combat E. coli. Although the USDA currently tests products for the deadly E. coli O157:H7 strain, they will now begin testing for non-1057 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli, or STECs. Test samples will include those that tested positive for O157 and those that did not. The new testing is only being done for study purposes, and the USDA has not declared STECs to be adulterants. If samples test positive for STECs, but not for O157, products will not be recalled or seized in any way.
The testing will be focusing on a variety of strains of STECs, including 026, 0111, 0103, 0121, 045, and 0145. These six types cause most illnesses among non-0157 bacteria, and once sufficient data is gathered, the USDA will make a decision on whether or not to include the bacteria as adulterants, subject to the same type of policies as products contaminated with 0157.
If the USDA does indeed declare these bacteria adulterants, they will undergo the following process, as reported by Meatingplace:
- define applicable products from slaughter/dressing and further processing
- issue a Federal Register Notice in the form of an interpretive rule
- establish an effective date that ensures sufficient time to address seamless implementation for both domestic and imported products
- issue compliance guidelines
- issue policy implementation instructions and train FSIS inspection personnel
- conduct outreach to the regulated industry
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The food industry will have to undergo major changes if this happens, especially among members of the meat industry. In response to this, FSIS Under Secretary Richard Raymond said, “You certainly may hear things you don’t agree with…Progress won’t occur if we’re just wanting to avoid discomfort by maintaining the old status quo. The E. coli bug is obviously not satisfied with the status quo and neither should we be.”
