A Georgia E. coli O157:H7 outbreak has 8 people confirmed cases, 4 presumed , and 12 cases still undergoing testing. In addition, 4 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome have developed so far. Hemolytic uremic sydrome is a severe complication associated with E. coli O157:H7 and is the leading cause of acute kidney failure among children.
All of the confirmed and presumed cases had recently eat at the Barbecue Pit, a restaurtant in Moultrie, Georgia. The Barbecue Pit had recently switched to a new supplier for its ground beef, Nebraska Beef, based in Omaha, Nebraska. Nebraska Beef has issued a recall of over 5.3 million pounds of ground beef. Nebraska Beef is also the supplier for Kroger, the source of the outbreaks in Ohio and Michigan that have left 41 ill so far.
Health department officials in Georgia now believe Nebraska Beef is likely the source of their outbreak. Brenda Greene, Southwest Georgia Public Health District Deputy Health Director had the following to say:
“A specimen sample from one of the patients resulted in a match to the same strain of E. coli bacteria in disease outbreaks in Michigan and Ohio, and those illnesses are linked to ground beef. The National Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and state epidemiologists agree that ground beef may be a source of the infection in Colquitt County.”
We will keep you updated on any further developments in the Georgia E. coli Oubreak.
