Georgia E. coli Cases Part of Multi-State Outbreak Linked to Ground Beef
The E. coli outbreak that has sickened 22 people in Michigan and 21 people in Ohio has now spread to four more states. Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, and New York all have one confirmed case that matches the outbreak strain that has affected Michigan and Ohio, according to the CDC. The CDC states that all of the illness began between May 27 and June 24 of this year.
Also, according to the CDC:
Twenty-three persons have been hospitalized. One patient developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). No deaths have been reported. Twenty-six (58%) patients are female. Patients range in age from 4 to 78 years with a median age of 19 years.
The outbreak strain that originated in Michigan and Ohio was found to match E. coli found in contaminated ground beef purchased at Kroger retail stores in the two states. Kroger recalled all ground beef from their Michigan and Ohio stores on June 25, and also expanded the Kroger recall on July 3 to all Kroger stores and Fred Meyer, QFC, Fry’s, Ralphs, Smith’s, Baker’s, King Soopers, City Market, Hilander, Owens, Pay Less, Scotts and Dillons.
Kroger’s supplier, Nebraska Beef, also recalled 531,707 pounds of ground beef material on June 30. The Nebraska Beef recall was then expanded on July 3 to include approximately 5.3 million pounds of ground beef. The recall included all ground beef products produced by Nebraska Beef between May 16 and June 26.
An E. coli outbreak in Georgia, which has 8 confirmed cases, is now connected with this multistate outbreak. The CDC confirms that one of the eight confirmed Georgia cases matches the outbreak strain from Michigan and Ohio, which also includes three other states. The eight confirmed Georgia cases have been linked to ground beef products at the Barbecue Pit restaurant, which has been linked to Nebraska Beef. The CDC is continuing to investigate the Georgia cases, as well as other E. coli illnesses across the nation, to determine the extent of this multistate outbreak.
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