The researchers, including USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) animal scientist Thomas S. Edrington, reported how the E. coli sense a key chemical that plays a critical role in allowing the bacteria to colonize inside the cattle’s gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

To proliferate, E. coli express genes differently based on their environment, such as outside the cattle host, inside the cattle rumen, or even at the end of the cattle GI tract. Having a better understanding of when, why and how these bacteria colonize could lead to practical applications in the future, according to Edrington.

The researchers showed that “quorum sensing” chemicals called acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs), which are produced by other bacteria, are present within the bovine rumen but absent in other areas of the cattle GI tract. AHLs are important because E. coli harbor a regulator, called SdiA, which senses these AHLs and then prompts the E. coli to attach and colonize.

The research suggests that limiting production of the SdiA chemical, or blocking bacterial reception of the AHLs, may eventually lead to new strategies for keeping E. coli from attaching inside the animal.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted at the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, campus. It involved researchers from several universities and was headed by Vanessa Sperandio, who is with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, in Dallas.

USDA has associated the Cargill E. coli ground beef recall with three confirmed illnesses caused by the identical strain of E. coli 026. There are two cases in Maine and one in New York.  The agency’s initial Cargill ground beef recall distribution list includes 26 BJ’s Wholesale Club stores in Maine, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York.

An active E. coli ground beef investigation is continuing. The tainted Cargill ground beef was produced June 11 for use or freezing by July 1. People started to get sick  June 24. Public health officials at the state and federal level are concerned that more outbreak cases could surface if consumers unknowingly pull recalled ground beef from their home freezers for meal preparation.

Cargill’s recalled ground beef was sold to BJ’s Wholesale Club in 42-pound cases. Fourteen-pound “chubs” inside the cases were for repackaging into trays of ground beef for sale in BJ’s Wholesale Club meat cases. The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. 9400″ inside the USDA mark of inspection. The Class I recall covers 8,500 pounds of Cargill ground beef.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, E. coli O157:H7 causes 73,000 illnesses and 50 deaths every year in the United States.  Another six E. coli strains – including O26 — are less pervasive but just as capable of causing severe illness, including hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

Due to a gaping shortfall in federal law, only E. coli 0157:H7 is banned from ground beef as an adulterant. The prohibition hasn’t ended E. coli 0157:H7 contamination, but it has forced meatpackers to constantly test for it and it also calls for routine government testing of the products.

An FSIS ground beef recall announcement said Cargill Meat Solutions Corp of Pennsylvania is recalling 8.500 pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli 026, a potentially lethal human pathogen. The meat was produced June 11 and sold in 14-pound “chubs” to retailers who repackaged it for meat case display. The affected store brands haven’t been announced yet. The tainted ground beef was initially shipped to distribution centers in Connecticut and Maryland for further sale.

Two people from Maine and one from New York have been infected by the same identical strain of E. coli 026 and health investigators in the two states are continuing their efforts to learn the extent of this outbreak.  Cargill is a large multi-national corporation that has been involved in E. coli ground beef recalls and outbreaks in the past. FSIS has found a convincing association between the Maine and New York E. coli cases and ground beef from Cargill.

Eating ground beef is a well-established mode of shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). The most prevalent type of STEC is O157:H7, but E. coli 026 also produces shiga toxin that attacks a person’s red blood cells. In 5 to 15 percent of STEC infections, patients develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a related condition.

HUS is the leading cause of kidney failure, worldwide, in children. It also can damage other parts of a person’s body, including the heart, brain and central nervous system. HUS in children is deadly in about 5 percent of cases.

Here is the Cargill E. coli ground beef recall announcement:

The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. 9400″ inside the USDA mark of inspection. The recall includes 42-pound cases of “GROUND BEEF FINE 90/10,” containing three (3) – approximately 14 pound chubs each. These products have a “use/freeze by” date of “07/01/10,” and an identifying product code of “W69032.”

The cluster of E. coli is being investigated by the Michigan state health authority and the Grand Traverse County Health Department. 9 & 10 News reported tonight that one of the children remains hospitalized. Children under 5 are in the age group most susceptible to developing a complication of E. coli infection known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS can keep children hospitalized for lengthy periods with kidney failure and many other impairments caused by the toxin.

Michigan health officials are taking the opportunity of the outbreak to remind families to practice strict hand hygiene at  county fairs and other animal exhibits. Cattle and other animals shed E. coli from their feces and it can survive on the hides of cattle and other animals.

Of those who have become sick, 14 have been confirmed to have E. coli, including two children who are still recovering in hospital, according to the CBC report. Folklorama ended August 14, but there is a risk of secondary infection. Once someone has eaten contaminated food, the infection can be passed person to person, by hand-to-mouth contact.

The recall announcement is being amended to revise the geographic distribution and to note that some of the recalled products were distributed to a firm in California for further processing. The further-processing facility is not named. The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. 8268″ inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as a production code of 27509 through 01210. These products were produced on various dates between Oct. 2, 2009 and Jan. 12, 2010. They were distributed to retail outlets and institutional foodservice providers in California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and internationally, and to a firm in California for further processing, the amended recall said.

USDA became aware of the problem on July 15 when the agency was notified by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) of a small E. coli O157:H7 cluster of illnesses with a rare strain as determined by DNA fingerprinting. A total of six patients with illness onset dates between April 8 and June 18, 2010 were reported at that time. After further review, CDPH added another patient from February to the case count, bringing the count to seven.

FSIS is continuing to work with the CDPH and the company on the investigation. Anyone with signs or symptoms of foodborne illness should contact a health care provider.

Mary Clifton with the Ohio Department of Health told NBC4-TV in Columbus, Ohio, that there is a push to get more rapid testing. The problem is that there is not an improved standard test yet to do rapid testing. The Ohio State research report said that better methods need to be in place to protect lakes from being contaminated in the first place. Shiga toxin-producing E. coli bacteria grow in the guts of cattle and other animals. The animals shed the pathogen  in their feces and it can be washed into waterways during rains.

“With the temporary measures [the amusement park] put in place, it’s safe for them to operate,” Summers said.

According to the news report, Warren County officials found out in late July  that one of five drinking water samples taken from the park had tested positive for E. coli. Visitors are being instructed not to drink the water. Plumbing repairs have finished and the park’s drinking water will be tested again this week. So long as the park is taking steps to remedy the issue, no fines will be imposed. News reports cited that the Land of Make Believe did receive a violation in 2009 from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for “unpermitted discharge to ground or surface water from a septic system.”

Source:

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/warren-county/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1282104315245270.xml&coll=3

A test taken August 12 of the lake revealed E. coli levels at 1,300 parts per 100 milliliters. Any count greater than 235 is considered high, said Brian McManus, a department spokesman. Officials did not say what caused the spike in E. coli levels in the lake, but runoff from heavy rain has been known to increase E. coli levels in some lakes. The pathogen grows in the guts of cattle and some other animals and is expelled in the animals’  feces. The bacteria can cause bloody diarrhea and painful stomach cramping. In 5 to 15 percent of infections, patients develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the leading cause of kidney failure in children.

McManus told JournalStar.com that weekly testing of the lake will continue.

Valley Meat Company E. coli Recall Retail Distribution List

Meat was recalled from stores in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Texas, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. The Recalled products were manufactured from Oct. 2009-Jan. 2010. The establishment number on the recalled frozen beef products is EST. 8268 and the production codes are 25709 through 01210.

Times Super Market
King Market
Oak Creek Market, Inc.
Four Corners Market
Anza Village Market
Big Trees Market
Spencers Fresh Market
Ponderosa Market
Banning Village Market
Rio Ranch Market
My T Fine Foods
Ben Lomand Market
Andronico’s Markets, Inc.
Manor Market Inc
Boron Food Mart, Inc.
Dinsmor Store
Mollie Stones
Mike’s Discount Food Market
P W Supermarket Inc.
Page’s Market
Al Mancasola’s Grocery Markets
Farmers Fresco Supermarket
Foods Etc.
Oaks Red and White
Colfax Sierra Market
Solano Market
The Original Irvine Ranch Market
Best Deal Food Company Inc.
Del Sol Market
El Sol Market
Erickson Supermarket
Fairway Stores
IGA
J. Solanki Meat
McKays
Mi Pueblo San Jose Inc.
Safeway
Select Markets
Super A Foods, Inc.
Super Center Concepts, Inc
Ukas Big Saver Foods
Vons
Buy-Low Market
Glazier’s Food Marketplace
Mariana’s
The Sierra Nevada Trading Company
PC Hometown Market
Two Boys Grocery
Hometown Foods Drain
Red Apple
Halsey Select Market
Jefferson Hometown Market
Stewarts Market
Martins Food Center
Mill City Market Place
Mohler Co-Op
Steve’s Market
Food 4 Less
Price Slasher
Mt Hood Foods
Jack’s Family Market
Ken & Sons Select
Shady Cove Market
Sheridan Select
Noels Market Inc
Stanfield Main St Market
Thriftway
Sentry
Main Street Market
Auburn’s Main Street Market
Matthew’s Thriftway
Ralph’s Red Apple Market
Andy’s Market
Plaza Market
Holcomb’s Market
Bridle Trails Red Apple
Cascade Mercantile
Food Emporium
Pay-Less Supermarkets