Minnesota Harvest Petting Zoo E coli Outbreak
Sponsel’s Minnesota Harvest Petting Zoo near Jordan, Minnesota, was temporarily shut down after preliminary tests by the state health department found that a 3-year-old boy’s E. coli infection may have been caused by contact at the zoo.
Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is investigating whether others may have contracted E. coli O157: H7 at the petting zoo, which is 12 miles south of Shakopee and part of an attraction that also includes an apple orchard. The orchard at Sponsel’s Minnesota Harvest is not associated with this potential E. coli outbreak.
Our firm is representing the toddler. He appears to have contracted the disease from a llama at the petting zoo. The child spent 11 days this month in a Twin Cities hospital fighting hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a life-threatening complication of an E. coli infection. According to a recent study, 3 percent of E. coli HUS cases end in death when involving a child under 5 years old.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) found a strain of E. coli O157:H7 in the feces of a llama at the petting zoo that genetically matched the strain of E. coli O157:H7 that sickened the 3-year-old.
E. coli O157:H7 is one of the most common and most dangerous kinds of intestinal disease agents associated with animal contact. Pritzker Olsen practices extensively in cases dealing with the pathogenic bacteria and currently represents victims of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at the 2009 National Western Stock Show in Denver.
“Despite state guidelines recommending sanitation measures to ensure the safety of visitors to petting zoos, it appears the operator of this facility did not follow all of these guidelines,” stated Attorney Fred Pritzker. “The Minnesota Department of Health regularly sends these guidelines to petting zoos. This outbreak might have been prevented if this business had put safety first.”
For a free consultation with an attorney regarding your E. coli poisoning case, please call 612-338-0202, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form.
School Trip E. coli Outbreak at Camp Bournedale
State and federal health officials are investigating what food caused the Camp Bournedale E. coli O157:H7 outbreak among a class of sixth graders from Lincoln, Rhode Island.
The trip to the camp in Plymouth, Massachusetts, happened October 13-16. According to a press release from the Rhode Island Department of Health, 15 of the students complained of diarrhea. Two were diagnosed with infections of E. coli O157:H7 and two of the trip-goers to Camp Bournedale remain hospitalized.
Lincoln School officials and Rhode Island’s leading state epidemiologist, Dr. Robert Crausman, are urging parents, children and chaperons from the trip to seek immediate medical attention if they develop diarrhea — the primary symptom of E. coli infection. They want to prevent the outbreak from spreading from person-to-person contact. Those outcomes have been known to occur if infected persons don’t practice safe handwashing.
In Massachusetts, state health officials and the USDA are investigating what food may have caused the outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also is assisting in the overall investigation.
In more than five percent of E. coli O157:H7 cases, victims suffer a life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS. Young children and adults over age 60 are more prone to contracting the disease, which causes death in nearly 5 percent of all cases.
National food safety law firmPritzker Olsen Attorneys currently represents victims of E. coli HUS and is dedicated to the prevention of this disease. We have been calling on Congress for years to pass tougher food safety legislation, including funding for more inspections.
We are one of the few law firms in the nation practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness and we have collected tens of millions for victims of food poisoning. To contact an experienced E. coli attorney at our firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete our online contact and information form. We will provide you with a free case consultation.
E. coli O157:H7 is an organism that lives in the guts of cattle and other animals without harming them. The microbe can survive in the feces of the animals and contaminate meat during the slaughtering process. It can also live in water or ground and come in contact with fresh produce. Undercooked hamburgers are a common cause of E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks because the pathogen can survive in the center of the meat if the temperature there doesn’t reach 160 degrees.
Once ingested by humans, E. coli O157:H7 produces a toxin that attacks blood cells causing a range of problems. Kidney failure, hemorrhaging, strokes, heart problems, brain damage and central nervous system disorders are all possible outcomes of an E. coli HUS infection. Young children and the elderly are the two groups who are most at risk for infection.
4.6 Percent of Ecoli HUS Cases End in Death
By Fred Pritzker
A new study published this week concludes that young children and females have an increased risk of developing life-threatening HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome, once infected with E. coli O157:H7.
The study by 11 microbiologists from a range of state and federal public health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Minnesota Department of Health, also found that with or without E. coli HUS, elderly patients had the highest proportion of deaths associated with infection from Shiga-toxin producing E. coli O157:H7.
As a rule of thumb, scientists have estimated in the past that five to 10 percent of people who contract E. coli O157:H7 develop HUS, a disease that attacks the body’s red blood cells in ways that can result in various health problems that are potentially fatal.
The study led by Dr. L. Hannah Gould of CDC’s Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch reviewed 3,464 E. coli O157:H7 infections recorded from 2000 to 2006. Overall, 218 of the patients, or 6.3 percent, developed HUS, the leading cause of kidney failure in children.
The highest proportion of E. coli HUS cases — 15.3 percent — occurred in children less than five years old. In all cases, death occurred .6 percent of the time when a person was infected with E. coli 0157:H7. In all HUS cases, death occurred 4.6 percent of the time.
With or without HUS, victims older than 60 had the highest rate of death due to E. coli O157:H7 infection. The study said 12 of 390, or 3.1 percent, of patients older than 60 died. In the same population, five of 15, or 33 percent, of patients died after their infection developed into HUS, which can lead to hemorrhaging, brain damage, spinal cord injury and heart problems.
Among children less than 5 years old, death occurred in 3 percent of those who developed E. coli HUS. In young children who are infected, but don’t develop HUS, the death rate was .3 percent.
E. coli O157:H7 infections are preventable. They occur from ingesting the bacteria, mostly from contaminated ground beef, leafy green vegetables, raw milk, raw cider, cantaloupe and other fresh produce. National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys has years of experience representing victims of these foodborne E. coli HUS cases, including E. coli wrongful death lawsuits. To receive a free case consultation, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free), or complete an online contact and information form. If we agree to accept your case, we don’t get paid unless you win compensation for the injuries and suffering in your family.
Why Won’t USDA Mandate E. coli Beef Trim Tests?
By Brendan Flaherty
Of all the revelations made by New York Times reporter Michael Moss in his excellent food safety story last Sunday, the one that jumped off the page the most was a quote from a safety officer at American Foodservice, a company that grinds one million pounds of hamburger a day.
The officer, Timothy P. Biela, said big slaughterhouses won’t sell beef trimmings to grinding plants if the plants test incoming shipments for E. coli O157:H7, a potentially deadly pathogen that was banned from finished ground beef in 1994.
“They would not sell to us,” Biela said. “If I test and it’s positive, I put them in a regulatory situation. So we don’t do that.”
What he is saying is that the big slaughterhouses are wary that a positive E. coli test at a grinding plant would trigger huge recalls of meat sold to others plants as well. It’s a dangerous industry practice and the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), the agency in charge of ensuring meat safety, has been looking the other way.
In fact, the FSIS has the power to change this, but they choose not to. Why? The practice only protects unsanitary slaughterhouses. Dr. Kenneth Petersen, an assistant administrator with FSIS, told the Times that his department could mandate testing, but that it needed to consider the impact on companies as well as consumers.
“I have to look at the entire industry, not just what is best for public health,” Petersen said.
Amazing stuff, especially when you consider the bottom line of the Times’ story: Eating ground beef is still a gamble — one that can cost lives when E. coli O157:H7 infections develop into hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) – which happens in five to 10 percent of all cases. In the prime example of the Times story, a Minnesota dance instructor was paralyzed from the waist down after eating a hamburger produced by Cargill that was laden with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 in a 2007 outbreak that sickened more than 900 people.
The story traced the ingredients that went into the contaminated, frozen patties made by Cargill. The “Angus Beef Patties,” as labeled, were actually made from cheap, low-grade trimmings and scraps that came from cow parts that were more likely to come in contact with feces during slaughter than more expensive cuts. The fatty ingredients came from slaughter plants in Nebraska, Texas, Uruguay and South Dakota and were mixed together to make frozen patties. The South Dakota ingredients had been treated with ammonia to kill bacteria, the story said.
In 2008, the USDA issued draft guidelines to slaughterhouses and grinders saying every production lot should be sampled and tested fore leaving the supplier and again at the receiver. But after the draft guideline received negative reaction from industry, the guidelines were never made official.
What could be more important than guarding public health? Isn’t that the ultimate consideration with food? After reading the New York Times story, the truth is that money sometimes comes first.
If you or a loved one has been sickened in a ground beef E. coli outbreak, contact national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys. Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. We have collected tens of millions for victims of food poisoning and we also are dedicated to the prevention of pathogenic outbreaks. For more information, call a food safety lawyer at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). To receive a free case consultation, , complete one of our online forms.
Two Children E. coli Cases Investigated in Tri Cities area
By Kathy Will
The Northeast Tennessee Health Office is investigating the cause of E. coli poisoning in a 4-year-old boy hospitalized in Johnson City, Tennessee. Media reports indicate he is the second child in the past month to received treatment for E. coli poisoning at the same hospital — the Johnson City Medical Center.
The family of the latest boy told TriCities.com that they suspect he may have contracted the bacterial infection while at a cow exhibit at a local fair. The boy was scheduled to receive a blood transfusion late this week.
E. coli O157:H7 produces a toxin that attacks the blood cells of people it infects. The situation can lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, the leading cause of kidney failure among U.S. children.
Beth Rader, a spokeswoman for the Northeast Tennessee Health Office, told WJHL-TV that officials have not identified a source for the E. coli illnesses. If it proves to be related to an animal show, it would be the second time this year that the disease was spread at such a gathering. Late last year and early this year, an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak was tied to the Western National Livestock Show in Denver. National law firm Pritzker Olsen attorneys currently is representing victims of the Colorado outbreak and has years of experience representing families whose children have been stricken by E. coli HUS. For more information, contact the firm at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free).
E. coli Prevention at Animal Exhibits
Although these cases of E. coli have not been associated with the cow exhibit at the local fair, the E. coli prevention information from the CDC below should be shared with animal exhibitors, parents, daycare workers and school officials. E. coli is preventable, but it takes everyone working together to make a difference.
- Information should be provided. Persons providing public access to farm animals should inform visitors about the risk for transmission of enteric pathogens from farm animals to humans, and strategies for prevention of such transmission. This should include public information and training of facility staff. Visitors should be made aware that certain farm animals pose greater risk for transmitting enteric infections to humans than others. Such animals include calves and other young ruminant animals, young poultry, and ill animals. When possible, information should be provided before the visit.
- Venues should be designed to minimize risk. Farm animal contact is not appropriate at food service establishments and infant care settings, and special care should be taken with school-aged children. At venues where farm animal contact is desired, layout should provide a separate area where humans and animals interact and an area where animals are not allowed. Food and beverages should be prepared, served, and consumed only in animal-free areas. Animal petting should occur only in the interaction area to facilitate close supervision and coaching of visitors. Clear separation methods such as double barriers should be present to prevent contact with animals and their environment other than in the interaction area.
- Handwashing facilities should be adequate. Handwashing stations should be available to both the animal-free area and the interaction area. Running water, soap, and disposable towels should be available so that visitors can wash their hands immediately after contact with the animals. Handwashing facilities should be accessible, sufficient for the maximum anticipated attendance, and configured for use by children and adults. Children aged <5 years should wash their hands with adult supervision. Staff training and posted signs should emphasize the need to wash hands after touching animals or their environment, before eating, and on leaving the interaction area. Communal basins do not constitute adequate handwashing facilities. Where running water is not available, hand sanitizers may be better than using nothing. However, CDC makes no recommendations about the use of hand sanitizers because of a lack of independently verified studies of efficacy in this setting.
- Hand-mouth activities (e.g., eating and drinking, smoking, and carrying toys and pacifiers) should not be permitted in interaction areas.
- Persons at high risk for serious infections should observe heightened precaution. Farm animals should be handled by everyone as if the animals are colonized with human enteric pathogens. However, children aged <5 years, the elderly, pregnant women, and immunocompromised persons (e.g., those with HIV/AIDS) are at higher risk for serious infections. Such persons should weigh the risks for contact with farm animals. If allowed to have contact, children aged <5 years should be supervised closely by adults, with precautions strictly enforced.
Food Isn’t The Only Vehicle for E. coli Infection in Humans
By Kathy Will
Eating contaminated food is still far and away the most common way for people to become infected with E. coli O157:H7, a deadly pathogen that sickens more than 70,000 Americans each year.
But national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen Attorneys is reminding families early in 2009 that contact with animals at livestock shows, petting zoos and other exhibits is another proven way for the organism to travel.
The law firm’s warning stems from a current E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Colorado. Health officials there are investigating an apparent connection between a growing number of genetically matched infections and attendance at the recent Western National Stock Show in Denver.
According to numerous press reports, at least 20 people who live on the Front Range in Colorado have been infected with the same strain of E. coli. Sixteen of the illnesses are in children who attended the animal exhibit, including a child who is 17 months old. The two-week show drew more than 643,000 attendees before it ended January 25 and health officials expect the number of E. coli O157:H7 infections in the current outbreak to grow.
“This outbreak should not have happened and could have been prevented,” said Fred Pritzker, founder and president of PritzkerOlsen. “When stock shows encourage or permit public contact with animals, there is a well known risk of E. coli O157:H7 infection and equally well known measures that should be in place to prevent such infections.”
Pritzker said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, Inc. (NASPHV) published a compendium of such infection prevention measures almost four years ago.
“Although the matter is still under investigation, it seems likely that rules of this sort were not implemented or followed,” he said.
Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a rare variety of E. coli that produces a toxin that causes severe damage to the lining of the intestine. Specifically, the acute disease caused by E. coli O157:H7 is hemorrhagic colitis. E. coli O157:H7 can also result in hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the United States.
With the understanding that children are more at risk for being seriously injured or killed by E. coli O157:H7 infection, it is imperative for families and school groups to take precautions while attending petting zoos, livestock shows and other animal exhibits.
Based on guidelines set by the (CDC) and the National Ag Safety Database, PritzkerOlsen presents the following strategies to reduce the risk of E. coli transmission in settings with animals:
- Locate hand-washing stations and always wash your hands after being in an area with animals, even if you don’t touch them. Bacteria can be spread by shaking hands, touching railings or coming in contact with soil.
- Running water and soap are best for hand washing. Where there is no running water, hand sanitizing gel is better than nothing.
- Don’t consume food or drinks in any area shared with animals.
- Older adults, pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems and young children should be extra careful.
- Avoid hand-mouth activities such as smoking, drinking or nail biting in any area shared with animals.
- Do not eat or drink raw (unpasteurized) milk or other dairy products.
- Children younger than 5 years old need adult supervision around animals.
- Never allow children to put their hands, toys, pacifiers or other objects in their mouths while around animals.
- Supervise the hand washing of children.
- Even after hand washing, be aware that exposure to E. coli O157:H7 can come from shoes, contaminated clothing or even strollers that were in areas shared with animals.
