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 leak sprung from a sewer line that leaked as many as 400,000 gallons of sewage into the ground near the restaurant, according to San Antonio Water System. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has now taken over the probe into how the well water supplying Fralo’s Art of Pizza got contaminated, and whether there is a connection between the restaurant E. coli contamination and the sewage leak.

According to the news report: “At first, SAWS officials said no one was affected by the Aug. 19 overflow, but then 24 restaurant customers were sickened from E. coli.” The restaurant has since reopened after water test results came back negative for E. coli, and the restaurant owner has said the water will be tested daily as a precaution.

Source:

http://www.kens5.com/news/New-investigator-seeks-answers-in-E-coli-cases-at-pizza-shop-101638553.html

Health officials have not attributed the restaurant’s water contamination to the spill, which involves up to 400,000 gallons of sewage that leaked into the ground. However, tests of the restaurant’s water are now showing no contamination as health officials continue to investigate the source of the problem.

“It is very hard to determine because there are so many factors that can impact water quality especially from a well, such as septic tanks,” said Sarah Gateswood of San Antonio Water System. “We know the area has a lot of septic tanks. The most important thing is for people to rest assured that the tests we are taking are coming back clean.”

The restaurant owner said he will hire a firm to regularly test the well. Right now, as an extra safety precaution, Fralo’s Pizza is still testing the water every day.

Sources:

http://www.ksat.com/news/24735142/detail.html

http://www.saws.org/latest_news/NewsDrill.cfm?news_id=702

Over the past several months, FDA and USDA technical experts, scientists, and other staff have participated in listening sessions and meetings in 13 states and toured farms to hear from people who have the “on-the-ground” knowledge that FDA states must be reflected in the proposed rule. In addition, more than 700 comments were received from all parts of the country and around the world  from growers; environmental groups; state and local government agencies; retail food chains; academia; consumers, and others.

The comments have been sorted and routed to specific areas that these groups have been focusing on, and will be carefully considered and evaluated for inclusion. In addition, FDA will consider testimony and comments received by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in response to the proposed National Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, as well as comments FDA received in response to its draft guidance on leafy greens, tomatoes and melons, issued in 2009.

FDA anticipates publishing a proposed fresh produce rule in 2011. The proposed rule will have a comment period, whereby stakeholders can provide comments and feedback to agency before the final rule is issued.

The first two cases of E. coli O157 was reported to the health department last Friday.  The third case was reported on Monday.  Health officials have sent E. coli isolates taken from the three children to a lab for genetic testing to determine if they have the same genetic fingerprint.  This would be evidence that all of the children were sickened by the same E. coli source.

Health officials have taken environmental samples throughout the fairgrounds, including water samples, to try to find the source of the outbreak.  Extremely small amounts of E. coli bacteria can result in infection and serious illness, including hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can cause kidney failure, brain damage, pancreatitis, blindness and death. The water was tested before the fair began, and E. coli bacterium were not found, but this does not mean it was free of the bacteria when the children visited.

The Grand Traverse County Health Department learned about two cases on Friday and a third on Monday, but officials haven’t been able to connect them except through the annual fair in Blair Township.

The children, who are not related, range from 5 to 15 years old. They did not work with the same livestock and did not eat from the same vendors, said Fred Keeslar, department health officer.

“We were hoping to find some common links, but didn’t,” he said.

Health officials have no positive proof the outbreak originated at the fair, but it remains the likeliest connection.

“There are lots of animals coming together and people touching animals that are kicking up dust,” Keeslar said.

Humans may be exposed to E. coli through contact with animal fecal matter. Symptoms include vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea, sometimes bloody diarrhea.

“It can lead to, in the worst case, renal failure and death,” Keeslar said.

Further testing is under way to pinpoint the specific type of E. coli. The best preventative measure is frequent hand-washing when in contact with barnyard animals.

Fair President Dana Cederquist could not be reached for comment.

Nancy Schroeder, secretary for the Northwest Michigan 4-H Livestock Council, said sanitation and hand-washing is part of annual plans at the fair.

“We have five hand-washing stations with running water and antibacterial soap. We also have hand sanitizer at the petting zoo,” she said.

Schroeder said fair-goers are encouraged to wash their hands before and after contacting animals, with warnings on banners hung at the fairgrounds, as well as signs posted at all barn entrances and in the restrooms.

“We try to make the public aware and we try to provide them with what they need on the grounds,” she said.

Darrel Robinson, president of the livestock council, said the bacteria associated with the ill children is a known risk with livestock and the reason warnings are prominently displayed across the fairgrounds. Additionally, fair planners participate in annual biohazard training in preparation for the fair, he said.

At least two of the stricken children are not involved with 4-H, though the third could have handled livestock, Keeslar said.

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, also called STEC infections, can affect people of any age, though the very young and elderly are the most susceptible, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

STEC live in the guts of cud-chewing hoofed animals, including cattle, goats and sheep, though the primary source for human illnesses is cattle. Other kinds of animals, including pigs and birds, sometimes pick up STEC from the environment and may spread it, according to the CDC.

Keeslar said all three infected Grand Traverse area children are expected to fully recover, though the 5-year-old remained hospitalized on Tuesday. The other two children were treated and released.

Officials tested water sources at the fairgrounds before the week-long event and on Tuesday took new samples to verify whether water became contaminated. Results are expected in several days, Keeslar said.

Health officials notified area doctors to watch for STEC symptoms in their patients because those who came into contact with the bacteria but didn’t become ill could still spread the infection to others, particularly those with weakened immune systems.

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.