E. coli Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Case In MN Raw Milk Outbreak
A Hartmann Dairy Farm E. coli raw milk outbreak in Minnesota has left one toddler in the hospital with hemolytic uremic syndrome (E. coli HUS) and infected three other Minnesotans with the dangerous pathogen, E. coli 0157:H7.
The other three E coli victims include a 70-year-old man and two school-aged children. The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed that all four cases involve the same strain of Ecoli, with the same DNA fingerprint. Three of the four cases are reportedly linked to raw milk produced by Hartmann Dairy Farm of Gibbon, MN. The Minnesota health department urged in a press release:
“anyone who may have recently purchased milk from the Hartmann Dairy Farm, also known as M.O.M.’s, to discard the product and not consume it.”
The MDH press release also mentions that the milk may be labeled simply as “organic” and consumers may not be aware that the milk is raw and unpasteurized. Some people believe that raw, unpasteurized milk is healthier than pasteurized milk, although scientific evidence on this point is inconclusive.
Pasteurization makes milk safer for human consumption and it is illegal to sell raw, unpasteurized milk across state lines. In Minnesota, the sale of raw milk is heavily regulated by law. However, new facts have surfaced about the owner and operator of Hartmann Dairy Farms, showing he has resisted regulations. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
“Michael Hartmann, whose dairy is just outside this town of 800 people, last had a license to sell Grade A milk in 2001. He has kicked inspectors off his property, refused to tell a judge his name in court and asserted he is a “natural man” with a constitutional right to raise and sell food without government interference.”
About E. coli and Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome
Symptoms of an E. coli infection are initially painful and uncomfortable, and may include abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea and nausea. They may begin 2 to 5 days after the contaminated food or fluids are consumed. However, the infection can soon turn life-threatening if it develops into Ecoli HUS syndrome (hemolytic uremic syndrome). This can cause kidney failure, requiring dialysis treatment and leaving long-lasting effects that can severely affect the victim’s quality of life for years to come.
Lettuce E. coli O145 Victim Represented by Pritzker Olsen
A student at Daemen College in Amhurst, New York who was sickened in an outbreak of E. coli 0145 has retained food safety lawyers at Pritzker Olsen. The outbreak of this rare strain of E. coli has been associated with recalled romaine lettuce distributed by Sidney, Ohio-based Freshway Foods.
The client became sick in early April with the classic symptoms of an E coli infection: bloody diarrhea and severe abdominal pain. She was hospitalized three times as her condition developed into hemolytic uremic syndrome (E. coli HUS), which is a life-threatening illness that can cause central nervous system damage, kidney failure, pancreatitis, heart problems, and other serious medical problems. Although her condition is improving, the illness has posed a serious setback to her studies and was completely preventable. E. coli O157 is the typical strain of this pathogen that the general public hears about in news reports. It is the most common strain linked to human illnesses, but as this case illustrates, it is certainly not the only one that can severely harm consumers.
“Any E. coli strain capable of producing the toxin that causes injury or death in humans, including O145, should be declared an adulterant and regulated by federal and state agencies charged with protecting our nation’s food supply,” said food safety attorney Fred Pritzker. “Our client’s HUS is no less devastating because it came from O145 rather than O157.”
Currently, the USDA does not test for E. coli O145 in food products. Food safety advocates, including Pritzker, have advocated for this to change. This particular O145 outbreak has so far sickened 23 people in 4 states: Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan and New York, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Seven probable cases are also being investigated.
In the wake of this outbreak and recall, another distributor, Vaughn Foods of Oklahoma, has also recalled lettuce that was grown at the same Yuma, Arizona farm being investigated in connection with the Freshway Foods recall.
Four Mile Prison E. coli Outbreak
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is investigating the Four Mile Prison E. coli outbreak, a situation where at least 13 of 500 incarcerated offenders are believed to be infected with E. coli O157:H7.
The Colorado Department of Corrections issued a statement saying the prison’s kitchens have been checked off as sanitary. So far, no one has been able to identify what food source is causing the outbreak, but the investigation is continuing.
Extra precautions are being exercised to prevent the spread of bacteria, the DOC said.
Three offenders have tested positive for E. coli and eight more in the prison population are suspected of having infections. Four Mile Correctional Facility is located in Canon City, Colorado.
Estimates are imprecise, but microbiologists guess that more than 70,000 Americans fall ill every year from E. coli bacterial infections, the largest source of which is contaminated ground beef. Of those infected, 5 to 15 percent develop life-threatening HUS E. coli orthrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP).
Both of those illnesses commonly shut down a person’s kidneys, but also attack other parts of the body, including the brain and central nervous system.
Peppa’s South King Restaurant E coli Cases Prompt Closure
In Hawaii, a Notice of Permit Suspension and Order to Cease and Desist has been issued to Peppa’s South King restaurant, a Korean BBQ restaurant cited for food handling violations as part of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak investigation.
Media outlets in Honolulu are reporting that of seven victims in the Hawaii E. coli outbreak, four ate at Peppa’s Korean BBQ on South King Street in Pawaa. Hawaii Department of Health investigators found problems at the restaurant, which is now working with the agency on an intensive mitigation plan to correct permit violations.
The Honolulu Advertiser reported that the restaurant’s management will be required to attend the Sanitation Branch’s Food Safety Certification Workshop to receive training on proper food-handling practices.
Hawaii Department of Health said the seven E. coli cases were diagnosed between March 2-23 and it has reminded doctors to report any additional cases to the state. One of four victims who were hospitalized remains in serious condition.
In 5 to 15 percent of E. coli O157:H7 infections, patients develop HUS, or hemolytic uremia – a life-threatening disease that is the leading cause of kidney failure in children. But HUS is more than a kidney disease. Powerful toxins emitted by E. coli O157:H7 microbes wreak havoc in other parts of the body, too, altering brain function and sometimes leading to stroke, convulsion, coma and paralysis. A related condition, often in older adults, is known as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, or TTP.
Health officials have not pinpointed a cause for the outbreak, but consumption of contaminated meat — often undercooked ground beef — is the leading form of transmission. E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks also have been caused by contaminated raw milk, unpasteurized cider, sprouts, leafy green vegetables, other vegetables and fruits, including pineapple.
Wisconsin Raw Milk E coli Problem Under Review
A Wisconsin state government committee will start meeting next month to clarify a public policy response to the question of raw, unpasteurized milk. Scientists have proven over and over again it is at risk to be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and other pathogens, but die-hard pockets of raw milk advocates won’t let go.
Secretary Rod Nilsestuen of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, says the group will consider the legal and regulatory affects and what conditions would be required to protect public health.
W isconsin law has required since 1957 that milk sold to consumers be pasteurized, but raw milk believers have gotten around the legislation through cow-sharing agreements and other arrangements.
In the past year, there has been more than one Wisconsin raw milk outbreak, including a raw milk Campylobacter outbreak caused by a family farm near Elkhorn in the southeastern part of the state. At least 35 people were sickened, including many children.
The raw milk study group’s chair will be Richard Barrows, a retired Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The group also includes dairy farmers, cheese makers, consumers and food safety professionals.The Legislature will be advised of the committee’s recommendation.
A classic case of raw milk food poisoning that created a lot of awareness about the danger of raw milk involved E. coli O157:H7 and a cow share program in Woodland, Washington. A study of the 2005 raw milk E. coli outbreak said the scientific discovery of the outbreak’s source helped initiate legislative reform in the Washington Legislature regarding cow-share programs.
According to a recap of the outbreak by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the outbreak started in December 2005 with an unusually high number of E. coli O157:H7 cases in Clark County.
Eventually, 18 cases were discovered, at least nine of whom were children. Of those nine, five were hospitalized and four developed E. coli HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the leading cause of E. coli death.
