Child's E. coli Death in Vancouver Could Help Quicken Public Outbreak Response

Posted on April 25, 2010 by PritzkerLaw

Bonnie and Anthony Wilson of Vancouver, Washington, have bravely shared the story of their 4-year-old son's E. coli death in the hopes of sparing anyone else the same tragedy.

Ronan Allen "Ro-Ro" Wilson was an exhuberant, healthy boy who had overcome serious health challenges in his first few years of life only to fall victim to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 at a family daycare. Ronan and others  were sickened before the faciility was shut down. In all, 13 people became infected.

Clark County Health Officer Dr. Alan Melnick  told the Portland Oregonian newspaper that he is certain the outbreak spread inside the daycare from fecal-oral transmission during person to person contact.

He said he and his team made the right  decisions while investigating the outbreak, but he expects to have more discussions with colleagues about whether the state of Washington should retool protocols to be more aggressive in responding to E. coli outbreaks. Ronan's death occurred a mere 10 days after his mother first took him to see a pediatrician on March 29.

According to the story written by reporter Katy Muldoon, here is the sequence of events:

  • Despite Mrs. Wilson telling the doctor that a child at Ronan's daycare had been hospitalized with an infection of E. coli O157:H7, the physician said Ronan's symptoms didn't fit that diagnosis and sent him home. 
  • At home, the boy's condition appeared to improve the next day, but by evening he felt sick again. When his health worsened on April 1, he went to the clinic and then to the hospital, where he became violently ill. His diarrhea and vomit turned bloody and his stomach became distended.
  • Ronan's infection spread fast. By April 4, the infection had moved beyond his colon and kidneys to his brain, damaging his thalmus and causing swelling. Ronan was rendered unconscious and he was breathing with a respirator. The brain infection worsened.
  • On the evening of April 8, Ronan died. Friends and family -- including 7-year-old brother Gavin -- had been able to say their good-byes.

One week after Ronan's funeral, the Wilsons told their story:

"They want others to know the loving, curious, ambitious child they lost and to learn from their experience. They don't want another family to ever endure what they did.''

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Timeline for Daycare E. coli Outbreak

Posted on April 11, 2010 by PritzkerLaw

Questions are being raised about the public health response to the Fletch Home Daycare E. coli outbreak in Vancouver, Washington, that has tragically claimed the life of a 4-year-old boy.

Clark County Health Officer Dr. Alan Melnick told the Associated Press that officials allowed the state-licensed daycare to continue operating for two weeks after the first child victim was confirmed to have an infection of E. coli O157:H7. The daycare remained open until at least two more children fell sick.

The daycare toddler who died in the outbreak was the fourth to get sick and Melnick isn't saying which day the boy was hospitalized. The home daycare operated by Dianne and Larry Fletch was finally closed April 2. The little boy's E. coli death was reported to authorities seven days later.

Melnick told the AP that he didn't shut down the business until April 2 out of concern that other parents who used the facility could take their children to different day cares and risk exposing others.

Here's the AP timeline of the outbreak, one that national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen is investigating:
 
  • On March 19, a laboratory reports the first case to health officials, after stool sample of a daycare attendee tested positive for E. coli O157:H7.
  • On March 26, the same doctor who treated the first child reported a second case. That day, health officials inspect the facility but didn't "find anything alarming." Health officials begin contacting staff and parents of all the children to pinpoint the source.
  • About March 29, the mother of a third child called health officials reporting symptoms. Health officials did another inspection that day and didn't find any specific problems.
  • The boy who died was the fourth child to be hospitalized.
  • On March 30, health officials took stool samples from 22 children and 4 adults. When it got results back showing that E. coli had spread there to seven more children and staff, it closed the facility on April 2.
  • On April 9, officials were notified of the 4-year-old boy's death. The three other children hospitalized in the outbreak recovered well enough to go home.
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Fletch Daycare E. coli Outbreak Results in Death to 4-year-old Boy

Posted on April 9, 2010 by PritzkerLaw

A daycare E. coli outbreak at the Vancouver, Washington, home of Dianne and Larry Fletch has claimed the life of a  4-year-old boy who was first hospitalized March 19.

The tragic death was confirmed by Elizabeth Winter of the Washington State Department of Early Learning and Dr. Alan Melnick, health officer for Clark County.

Larry Fletch, who reportedly has operated the in-home daycare since 1990 with no valid complaints on file, was interviewed by KGW-TV: 

"It really is so horrible,'' he said. "We knew the child since before he was born. We’ve been trying to help the family. It’s just so horrible. We were close to the child. We’re close to all of our children."

Public health officials in Clark County closed the daycare April 2 after four children were hospitalized with matching strains of E. coli O157:H7. Others involved in the daycare later tested positive for E. coli but had not yet exhibited symptoms. 

The cause of the Vancouver daycare E. coli outbreak has not been determined, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that daycare centers are the most likely settings for person-to-person outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7. In such cases, the pathogen is spread through fecal-oral contact.

The threat of these outbreaks is why public health officials have stressed the importance of strict hand-washing hygiene. In outbreaks of E. coli, five to 15 percent of people infected by the organism develop life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome, HUS. Of all age groups, young children are the most susceptible to contracting HUS, which typically involves kidney failure.

But E. coli HUS is much more than that, often damaging other organs and a person's central nervous system.

National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen is investigating the Fletch daycare E. coli outbreak and is accepting cases from affected families. Our firm gets involved in practically every major outbreak of E. coli and other foodborne illnesses.

For a free case consultation or to ask legal questions of an E. coli lawyer who has handled many HUS cases, call our firm at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.

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Clark County Daycare E. coli Outbreak

Posted on April 9, 2010 by PritzkerLaw

Washington state health officials have temporarily shut down a Clark County daycare facility after four children in the setting were hospitalized with E. coli O157:H7 infections, including one who remains hospitalized.

The Clark County daycare E. coli outbreak includes two additional cases of illness and the state-licensed daycare center was closed April 2 to prevent more from getting sick. The Portland Oregonian newspaper reported the first details of the outbreak.

Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County's public health officer, told the newspaper that there was concern of continued person-to-person spreading of the E. coli daycare strain.

He said the health department learned of the first hospitalization on March 19. Soon after, three other children required hospitalization. Melnick told the newspaper that stool samples from 22 children and four adult caregivers showed six carrying the O157:H7 strain but not showing symptoms.

Because symptoms can take up to 10 days to appear after exposure, the health department is checking each day with staff and families of the children and won't reopen the facility until there are no more signs of infection.

Melnick told the Oregonian that one of the infected children remains hospitalized. In five to 15 percent of E. coli infections, patients develop life-threatening E. coli HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome. Children are most susceptible to this.

HUS is the leading cause of kidney failure in children, but it also carries many other risks ranging from central nervous system damage to heart problems. Stroke, convulsions, coma, paralysis, brainstem injury are all possible in HUS cases. 

Law firm Pritzker Olsen currently represents HUS E. coli victims from other outbreaks and has years of experience in E. coli  litigation. Our firm is already starting its own investigation of this Clark County daycare E. coli outbreak. We are involved as a representative for victims in practically every major outbreak of foodborne illness in the United States.

To contact us for answers to legal questions about the Washington daycare E. coli outbreak, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this web page. An experienced E. coli lawyer will provide you with a free case consultation and answer any questions you may have. 

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