Official Says Fatal E. coli Case Was Isolated
By Kathy Will
The Solano County Public Health Department in California has closed its investigation into the E. coli death of a 15-year-old boy with no finding of what caused the infection.
Dr. Ronald Chapman, deputy director of the department, told The Reporter newspaper the case was isolated and not caused by municipal drinking water in the boy’s town of Dixon. Nor could his illness be tracked to any food source, Chapman said.
The boy died last week. Parts of Dixon were under a boil water advisory in early December after a utility pipe broke and E coli was detected. But Chapman told the newspaper that recent tests on the city’s water supply came back negative for E. coli bacteria.
In addition, E. coli tests were negative in stool samples taken from a Dixon girl who was treated for diarrhea last week in a hospital emergency room. Health officials were concered that the diarrhea was a symptom of an E. coli infection.
“We do not know how or why this child (the 15-year-old boy) became infected with E. coli, but we do know that it was an isolated case and there is no threat to the public’s safety,” Chapman said in a press release. ”We are deeply saddened by this loss and our hearts go out to the child’s family and friends.”
Chapman said the county is waiting for state lab test results to determine what strain of E. coli was responsible for the fatal infection in the boy.
