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
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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.
