By Kathy Will
The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has associated a Michigan E. coli outbreak with bagged, industrial-sized packages of iceberg lettuce sold through wholesale venues to restaurants and institutions. Some of the 26 Michigan cases consumed shredded or chopped iceberg lettuce in restaurants or institutions purchased from Aunt Mid’s Produce Company, a Detroit-based wholesale distributor; and other distributing outlets could be identified.
Product trace back and additional tests results are still in progress. The results could point to other responsible parties and microbiological evidence that Aunt Mid’s iceberg lettuce was the source of the Michigan E. coli outbreak that has spread to include that states of Illinois, New York, Ohio and Oregon. Read about E. coli outbreaks and produce.
The 26 genetically linked cases are present in eight Michigan counties including seven at Michigan State University (Ingham County), five inmates at the Lenawee County Jail, three students at the University of Michigan (Washtenaw County), four in Macomb County, three each in Wayne, two in Kent counties, and one each in St. Clair and Oakland counties. Of the E. coli O157:H7 cases that are genetically linked, 10 have been hospitalized. These linked cases range in age from 11 to 81 years old. Symptoms of these confirmed, genetically-linked E. coli patients began on Sept. 8. More confirmed cases could surface as the investigation continues.
