The Ambassador Restaurant in Houghton, MI Linked to E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak
Seven people contracted E. coli infections after eating at The Ambassador, a restaurant in Houghton, Michigan, according to the Western U.P. Health Department. Four of the Ambassador restaurant E. coli victims were hospitalized. Health officials did not disclose whether any of the victims have hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a severe complication of an E. coli O157:H7 infection that often causes kidney failure.
After conducting an investigation of the outbreak, Western U.P. health officials determined that a sick employee at the restaurant was responsible for spreading E. coli to the restaurant patrons. A further investigation should be done to find out the following:
- Why was the food handler working while ill?
- What was the restaurant’s policy regarding ill employees?
- Did that policy encourage workers to come to work sick?
- Did management at The Ambassador know the employee was ill?
- What was the source of the employee’s E. coli infection?
- What were the restaurant’s hand washing policies?
- Did the employee wash his or her hands prior to handling the food?
In most cases, a restaurant is responsible for E. coli illnesses caused by a sick employee. Attorney Fred Pritzker is available for a free consultation regarding E. coli outbreak investigations and lawsuits. Because it is important that all relevant evidence be gathered as soon as possible, our attorneys get to work on a case as soon as they are hired. The expense of the investigation and litigation are carried by our law firm until there is a settlement or verdict in the case, i.e., we are not paid unless you win.
Three Children Who Attended Grand Traverse County Fair Contract E. coli Infections
Grand Traverse County health officials are investigating a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 infections in three children who attended the Grand Traverse County Fair. The connection between the three children stops there, however. They did not eat food from the same vendors or tend the same animals.
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.
E coli O145 Outbreak in MI, OH and NY Investigated by CDC and FDA
Both the CDC and the FDA have become involved in a multistate E coli O145 outbreak that has sickened people in Michigan, Ohio and New York. The CDC became involved early in the outbreak investigation when local health officials requested help identifying the strain of E coli involved in the outbreak.
Most E coli outbreaks are caused by E coli O157, but health officials in Washtenaw County, Michigan, where the outbreak began, ruled out O157 and made a preliminary finding that O145 was the E coli serotype involved in the outbreak. Because neither the county nor the state had a lab capable of definitively determining that it was O145, samples were sent to the CDC for testing.
The FDA was asked to help with the outbreak investigation when a product regulated by the FDA was suspected as the source of the outbreak. Early in the investigation, ground beef, which is regulated by USDA-FSIS, was ruled out as the source of the outbreak, or as one health official put it, “ground beef was not high on the list of suspects.”
State and county health officials, the CDC and the FDA are still investigating the E coli O145 outbreak and have not yet reported their findings.
Three university campuses are involved in this outbreak, suggesting that the campuses food service companies may be involved in this outbreak. To date, there have been 18 lab-confirmed illnesses and 32 potential E. coli O145 infections around Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio), the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and Daemen College (Amherst, New York).
E coli can cause death and serious illness, including hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and hemorrhagic colitis with severe dehydration.
Ohio State University Students Sickened by E. coli
Pritzker Olsen attorneys have a national reputation in the area of E. coli litigation and have been interviewed and quoted by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Lawyers USA and others. To contact Fred Pritzker, lead E. coli lawyer for the firm, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form for a free consultation.
An E. coli outbreak in Columbus, Ohio has sickened at least four students at Ohio State University and may be linked to a Michigan E. coli outbreak. According to news reports, the outbreak is linked to restaurants, cafeterias and other eating establishments.
What makes this case unusual is that the E. coli bacteria involved is not the usual E. coli O157:H7, but a non-O157 strain, E. coli O145.
According to Columbus Public Health, 13 probable cases of E.coli non–0157 have been reported and as many as five of those cases have been confirmed. Two of the confirmed cases are infected with an E. coli O145 that genetically matches the E. coli O145 that has sickened people in Michigan, including students at the University of Michigan.
According to NBC 4:
One of the victims in Columbus is Daniel Parsons, a freshman Civil Engineering student at OSU who lives in Steeb Hall. He became ill last Tuesday, went to the hospital and was admitted. He was released the next day but became sicker and was readmitted from Thursday through Sunday.
“Initially, I just had stomach pains, like hunger pains and I ate and nothing happened and I just went through the night and it kept getting worse. It felt like an upset stomach and the next morning I had bloody stools and that’s when I knew something was wrong,“ Parsons said. “They said if I didn’t show signs of improvement to come back immediately, so I was discharged Wednesday night. Late Wednesday night and Thursday, I stayed home. Thursday night I was throwing up a lot so I went back to the ER and that’s when I was admitted back to the ER.“
The source of Parson’s e.Coli has not been found.
“I’ve just been eating around campus, in the dining halls, dining facilities. It could have been anywhere. I could have gotten it through roommates, through other people in my hall. It could have been anything really,“ Parsons said.
MSU E. coli Outbreak Sickens Students
By Eric Hageman
Seven Michigan State University (MSU) students have contracted E. coli O157:H7 infections that have been associated with iceberg lettuce distributed by Aunt Mid’s Produce Company, a Detroit firm. At least 19 other people in Michigan and people in Illionois, New York, Ohio and Oregon have also been sickened in this E. coli outbreak associated with iceberg lettuce.
Health officials are continuing to investigate the outbreak. Trace back and additional testing may find other companies, including distribution companies involved in the outbreak. Companies in the chain of distribution and others may be liable for damages, which could include medical expenses, pain and suffering and loss of income.
If health officials do not find lettuce that tests positive for E. coli, epidemiological evidence alone may be sufficient to hold MSU and other parties liable. Epidemiological evidence includes interviews with those sickened, an analysis of food purchased with the sickened students’ MSU cards, and other evidence that would point to a common source of illness.
