Tennesse E. coli Probe Follows Tragedy

Posted on June 7, 2011 by PritzkerLaw

The E. coli death of a 2-year-old Dryden, Virginia, girl and the hospitalization of her brother are being investigated along with at least six other cases from northeast Tennessee as an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7.

Dr. David Kirschke, medical director of the Northeast Regional Health Office in Johnson City, has told reporters that the cases were discovered in the seven-county area in recent weeks: Greene, Carter, Johnson, Hawkins, Hancock, Washington and Unicoi Counties. No cause has been determined.

Kirschke told the Knoxville News Sentinel newspaper that health officials have been interviewing families stricken by the pathogen about their recent food histories and other possible exposures. He told the newspaper that seven of the eight case patients are infected by the same strain of E. coli. He also said several of the patients ate meat that was not thoroughly cooked.
 
E. coli lawyers at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., have launched their own investigation into the outbreak and are accepting cases from families whose loved ones have fallen ill. If the outbreak is linked to contaminated ground beef or other meat, consumers can hold manufacturers responsible and seek compensation for medical expenses, lost hours at work, future work restrictions, pain and suffering and other harms. Our firm also has handled E. coli wrongful death litigation to hold sellers of contaminated food accountable for lethal bacteria in meat and other products.
 
Our firm is one of the very few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have collected tens of millions of dollars for victims of food poisoning all over the U.S. Free legal consultations are available for calling Pritzker Olsen directly at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by sending in our contact form.
 
E. coli HUS
 
In 5 to 15 percent of  Shiga toxin E. coli infections, including E. coli O157:H7, case patients develop a life-threatening complication known as HUS E. coli, or hemolytic uremic syndrome. The disease attacks a person's red blood cells, causing kidney failure, coma, strokes, anemia,  heart problems and central nervous system disorders. Even people who suffer mild HUS cases can expect a lifetime of medical expenses for treatments that will be continuing for the rest of their lives.
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Using A Food Thermometer Can Help Prevent Cases of Food Poisoning

Posted on April 26, 2011 by PritzkerLaw
Food poisoning illnesses in the U.S. happen far more often than are reported, causing tens of millions people to get sick every year. The Food and Drug Administration estimates that two to three percent of all foodborne illnesses lead to secondary long-term illnesses. For example, shiga toxin-producing strains of E. coli can cause kidney failure in young children and infants -- the first of many life-threatening conditions that can stem from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
 
Salmonella can lead to reactive arthritis, or Reiter's syndrome. Listeria can cause meningitis and stillbirths; and Campylobacter may be the most common precipitating factor for Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).
 
If you really consider how serious food poisoning can be, chances are good you will start using a food thermometer in home cooking to check the temperature of everyday foods. Think about this: USDA research indicates that one out of every four hamburgers turns brown in the middle BEFORE it has reached a safe internal temperature of 160 degrees. For thinner foods, like hamburger, you can use a digital read instant thermometer.
 

What follows here is a home guide to safe cooking temperatures from USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. It lists foods and safe doneness temperatures:

Ground Meat & Meat Mixtures

Beef, Pork, Veal, Lamb       160

Turkey, Chicken                   165

Fresh Beef, Veal, Lamb

Medium Rare                        145

Medium                                  160

Well Done                              170

Poultry

Chicken & Turkey, whole         165

Poultry breasts, roast               165

Poultry thighs, wings                165

Duck & Goose                           165
 
Stuffing (cooked alone or in bird)   165
 
Fresh Pork
 
Fresh (raw)                                   160
 
Ham                                               160
 
Ham Pre-cooked (to reheat)      140
 
Eggs & Egg Dishes
 
Eggs          Cook until yolk & white are firm
 
Egg dishes                                  160
 
Leftovers & Casseroles            165
 
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Shiga Toxin E. coli Study in East Lansing

Posted on March 14, 2011 by PritzkerLaw

E. coli outbreak researchers at Michigan State University will study strategies to reduce the amount of E. coli released by cattle under a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The hope is that a reduction in E. coli O157:H7 will correspond with a decrease in the number of foodborne illnesses in humans.

The intestines of cattle are the primary reservoir for E. coli O157:H7 bacteria and other types of E. coli that emit powerful Shiga toxin once ingested by humans. The animals shed the bacteria in feces and it can contaminate butchered meat and many other foods depending on circumstances. Michigan State said in a press release that molecular biologist and epidemiologist Shannon Manning will lead the multi-disciplinary shedding study.

Part of the research goal is to better understand shedding of E. coli from Michigan cattle and dairy cows with the goal of enhancing detection methods and control strategies. Maybe there are farming practices that could reduce colonization of the microbes inside the animals. The research team expects to develop new ideas for direct-fed antimicrobials, vaccines, therapies and other control strategies that can reduce the frequency and level of Shiga toxin E. coli shedding.   

The grant was awarded through USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The agency supports research that promotes and enhances the scientific discipline of food safety. 
 
Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a life-threatening condition caused by E. coli O157:H7 in 5 to 15 percent of case patients. It is one of the most dangerous results of food poisoning. The condition can develop in any person of any age, but children under 5 are most susceptible and they almost always suffer kidney failure. HUS E. coli also can cascade into a multitude of other health problems, including anemia, stroke, inflamation of the brain, heart problems and central nervous system disorders, including paralysis. 
 
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Better E. coli Test Could Lower HUS-TTP

Posted on March 12, 2011 by PritzkerLaw

Ever since USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong exposed as superficial our nation's  testing methodology to find E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef, we realize more and more the need to improve our defense against this very dangerous pathogen.

Fong delivered a report last month that showed the USDA's method for test-sampling cuts of beef meant for ground beef  --  beef trim -- is an insufficient screen to keep the bacteria out of hamburger -- which is still the most likely vector to cause multi-state outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 poisoning. In 5 to 15 percent of these infections, the organism causes life-threatening hemoloytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP).  Children under 5 are most susceptible to HUS, which is the leading cause of E. coli death and can ravage any person of any age with a cascade of medical problems starting with kidney failure.

The Center for Public Integrity, a non-profit organization committed to investigative journalism, helped bring Fong's concerns to life with the following, reader-friendly description of the problem. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will be in charge of fixing it. Here's the Center for Public Integrity's take, with a few practical edits:

"Most of the ground beef consumed domestically is made of beef trim, the various bits left on a carcass after the choice cuts have been butchered. A device similar to a carrot peeler is used to slice roughly 4-inch pieces of trim off the cow, which are stacked into large bins, and sent off for testing before being ground. Under the current N-60 method, inspectors test 60 of these slices for E. coli. The process is overseen by the (FSIS).

Fong warned that, in situations where E. coli is present in 1 percent of the inspected bin, the current screening method would miss it over half the time. Or, as the report puts it, “if the contamination level is very low, FSIS is more likely to miss contamination than to detect it.” 
Fong's report  recommends that FSIS move towards a system that would allow them to identify the highest risk plants, focusing inspection resources where they are most needed. E. coli lawyer Fred Pritzer, who represents HUS-TTP victims and others sickened by foodborne illness, has applauded the inspector general's candor and the FSIS's willingness to remedy the problem. Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free).
 
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Missouri Woman's E. coli Death Stems from Family Thanksgiving Dinner

Posted on December 14, 2010 by PritzkerLaw

An E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak in Jasper County, Missouri, has killed a 51-year-old Carthage woman and sickened several other people, including two others who had confirmed cases of E. coli 0157:H7 infection.

Jasper County Health Department Director Tony Moehr said the outbreak stemmed from contaminated food or beverage served at the Thanksgiving family dinner November 27. An investigation is attempting to determine which food or beverage item caused the outbreak. Food contaminated with E. coli may not look or smell spoiled.  Moehr previously said the woman who died on December 8 contracted hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a complication of E. coli 0157:H7 infection that is the leading cause of E. coli death.

More than 20 people attended the family dinner and 11 experienced gastrointestinal illness. Moehr said the second confirmed E. coli infection occurred in a Jasper County resident who attended the event. A third case was reported in Dade County, also involving an attendee.  “We have identified seven or eight additional illnesses related to that gathering, but we don’t have the test results back for them. These cases occurred around the same period of time but were not as severe,'' Moehr told reporter Wally Kennedy at the Joplin Globe newspaper. 

Moehr said people started to become ill on November 30. The first E. coli case was confirmed Dec. 6. "It could have come from a variety of sources, but it was something that was consumed at that event,'' Moehr told the newspaper.
 
E. coli O157:H7 is a strain of E. coli that produces large quantities of a potent toxin that can damage the intestine with potentially serious health consequences.  Most people recover without antibiotics or other specific treatment in 5-10 days. But in 5 to 15 percent of E. coli 0157:H7 cases, patients develop HUS -- a disease that attacks a person's red blood cells, altering blood-clotting or causing blocked circulation in the kidneys or elsewhere. In the U.S. every year, about 80 people die from E. coli-related HUS. Once an infection has been established, no therapeutic interventions are available to lessen the risk of the course HUS will take.
 
National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., currently represents E. coli HUS survivors and all victims of E. coli 0157:H7 outbreaks. Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have collected millions of dollars for victims of food poisoning. PritzkerOlsen also is actively involved in efforts to make our food supply safe from E. coli and other dangerous human pathogens. If you have legal questions about an E. coli illness suffered in this outbreak or any other outbreak, call an attorney at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) for a free case consultation. If you complete the contact form on the side of this web page, an attorney will call you.
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HUS Caused by Raw Milk in Connecticut

Posted on December 3, 2010 by PritzkerLaw

E. coli in raw milk caused an outbreak of hemolytic uremic syndrome HUS in Connecticut in 2008 that has been studied by epidemiologists who have written a research paper on the topic.

On July 16, 2008, the Connecticut Department of Public Health identified two unrelated children who had experienced hemolytic uremic syndrome after consuming raw milk from the same farm. The authors investigated the situation further and found 12 more cases of people affected by raw milk from the same farm. The details of their study are chronicled in the December 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Led by Dr. Alice Guh of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the group identified 14 cases, seven of which were confirmed through genetic fingerprint testing. Five case patients required hospitalization and a total of three experienced HUS. No deaths were reported.  E. coli O157:NM outbreak strains were isolated from stool specimens of 6 case patients and 1 milking cow. The total estimated outbreak cost was $413,402. 

"Despite acceptable regulation milking standards and sanitation procedures (at the farm), it is believed that fecal contamination from an asymptomatic cow occurred during milking or the handling of milk'' causing the outbreak, the researchers stated.

Despite known medical hazards of raw milk consumption, attempts to ban raw milk sales in Connecticut have been unsuccessful. The 2008 raw milk HUS E. coli outbreak resulted in proposed legislation to prohibit nonfarm retail sale, strengthen advisory labels, and increase raw milk testing for pathogens.
 
HUS is a complication of E. coli infection that often leads to kidney failure and can lead to the damage of other organs and the body's nerve system. Young children are most prone to develop HUS, but it can affect people of any age. Once an infection has been established, no therapeutic interventions are available to lessen the risk of the development of HUS, which can lead to paralysis, brain damage and heart problems. HUS is the leading cause of E. coli deaths. 
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E. coli Outbreak Develops in Huron County MI

Posted on September 4, 2010 by PritzkerLaw

Huron County, Michigan, E. coli outbreak has developed recently with three confirmed illnesses and a fourth individual who is awaiting laboratory tests. A fifth person suspected of E. coli 0157:H7 infection tested negative for the pathogen.

According to the Huron County Health Department, three of the case patients are hospitalized, raising the possibility that one or more has developed life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). On average, five to 15 percent of people infected with E. coli 0157:H7 develops HUS or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP).

The Huron Daily Tribune quoted the county's health services director, Cindy Rochefort, as saying the cause of the outbreak has not been determined. As the public health investigation continues, area physicians and medical institutions have been alerted to look for HUS E. coli symptoms.

Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., currently represents HUS victims and is investigating the Huron E. coli outbreak. If you or a loved one lives in the area of the outbreak or has eaten recently at a restaurant in the county and believe you may have developed an E. coli infection, seek medical care immediately. For answers to legal questions about HUS litigation and compensation, call our firm at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.

PritzkerOlsen is a leading food poisoning law firm involved in virtually every foodborne illness outbreak in the United States. The firm has collected millions of dollars on behalf of people injured or killed as a result of adulterated food, including hemolytic uremic syndrome victims who have suffered kidney failure, heart problems, brain damage, anemia, central nervous system damage and other complications.We understand the long-term nature of medical issues surrounding HUS and the implications of current and future pain and suffering for victims and their families.

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Minnesota Raw Milk E. coli Outbreak Could Result in More Illnesses

Posted on May 27, 2010 by PritzkerLaw

A state health official is worried that the illness count in Minnesota's raw milk E. coli outbreak could increase as investigators continue to probe the outbreak's association with raw milk from the Hartmann Dairy Farm, also known as M.O.M.'s.

The Star Tribune reported that state officials have little doubt that the Gibbon, Minnesota, dairy farm produced the raw milk containing  E. coli O157:H7. The Department of Health announced Wednesday that four E. coli infections are considered to be part of the outbreak because they have matching genetic fingerprints.

Three of the four were hospitalized, including a toddler who developed life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

"I am concerned that we are going to hear about more cases,"  Dr. Kirk Smith, supervisor of state Health Department foodborne disease investigations, told the Star Tribune. It often takes up to two weeks for cases to surface, he added.

The newspaper reported that in 2001, Hartmann Dairy Farm's license to sell Grade A milk was revoked after state inspectors discovered unsanitary conditions, including chickens roaming and defecating in the milking parlor.
 
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Department of Health is urging people not to drink milk recently purchased from Hartmann Dairy Farm, aka M.O.M.'s. The milk may be labeled organic and consumers may be unaware that the milk has not been pasteurized. 
 
Anyone who has experienced illness after consuming dairy products from Hartmann’s Farm should immediately consult their health care provider. For answers to legal questions, families can call food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our free consultation form on the side of this Web page.
 
Pritzker Olsen is based in Minneapolis and has a national reputation as a leading practitioner of foodborne illness litigation, including raw milk cases. Currently we represent a Pennsylvania man who developed Guillain Barre syndrome. He became so sick from drinking contaminated raw milk that he received intensive hospital care for severe neurological damage and paralysis that stemmed from food poisoning.
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HUS Victim Sickened by E. coli O145 Featured in New York Times is Client of Pritzker Olsen Law Firm

Posted on May 26, 2010 by PritzkerLaw

Pritzker Olsen client Emily Grabowski was featured in a May 27, 2010 New York Times article about the E. coli O145 outbreak involving fresh romaine lettuce from Freshway Foods, Sidney, Ohio.

Ms. Grabowski, a college freshman in New York, is one of 26 confirmed and 7 probable cases related to this outbreak. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

As of May 20, 2010, a total of 26 confirmed and 7 probable cases related to this outbreak have been reported from 5 states since March 1, 2010. The number of ill persons identified in each state with this strain is: MI (11 confirmed and 2 probable), NY (5 confirmed and 2 probable), OH (8 confirmed and 3 probable), PA (1 confirmed), and TN (1 confirmed). The reported cases in Tennessee and Pennsylvania do not reflect expansion of the outbreak but retrospective identification of cases using the PulseNet system – these cases are part of the original cluster due to the original implicated lot of lettuce from March.

As a result of her E. coli O145 illness, Ms. Grabowski developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a potentially lethal condition known to cause severe kidney damage, neurologic deficits and hypertension.

This outbreak, another one involving leafy green vegetables, points to the need for significant regulation of an industry responsible for repeated outbreaks.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its final report on the outbreak on May 21, but so far refused to identify the farm at which the implicated romaine lettuce was grown.

Pritzker Olsen, a national food safety law firm, represents a number of people from this outbreak and is involved in virtually all major outbreaks of foodborne illness.

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HUS E. coli Lettuce Outbreak Renews Safety Concerns Over Bagged Produce

Posted on May 19, 2010 by PritzkerLaw

A leading food safety microbiologist who has studied the topic of lettuce E. coli contamination remains concerned in the wake of the current E. coli O145 lettuce outbreak that bagged, pre-cut produce is riskier than whole vegetables.

In a Washington Post story raising questions about a possible trade off between the convenience of bagged lettuce for consumers and the threat of E. coli, Michael Doyle said he has been avoiding bagged lettuce for years. Doyle directs the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. 

E. coli contamination of bagged leafy greens has been a hot issue in the grocery and farming trades since 2006. That's when an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in bagged baby spinach sickened 238 people nationwide and killed five. It was traced to a farm in Salinas County, California.
 
The topic has been revived by the Freshway Foods lettuce E. coli outbreak in New York, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee involving colleges and a public school district in Wappingers Falls, New York. All together, 30 people are considered to be victims of the outbreak, including 12 who were hospitalized.
 
Of three patients hospitalized with life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), one is a freshman at Daemen College in New York. She is represented by food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen.
 
The two other HUS victims in the outbreak are school children from Wappingers Falls. Fortunately, there have been no deaths. 
 
They all ate contaminated lettuce distributed to wholesalers and institutions by Ohio-based Freshway Foods. One of the smoking gun pieces of evidence was a previously unopened bag of Freshway shredded romaine lettuce that was distributed to Wappingers Falls schools. It tested positive for E. coli O145.
 
Children are more susceptible to HUS than anyone and the effects can last a lifetime. If you have legal questions about compensation to pay damages for your child's HUS syndrome, contact Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this web page. Besides currently representing an HUS victim from New York who was sickened in this outbreak, we have been leading practitioners for many years in the area of foodborne illness litigation. 
 
Doyle, the microbiologist, believes the problems with bagged leafy greens begin in the field, where soils can be contaminated with E. coli from the feces of cattle or wild animals. In a study published last year in the Journal of Food Protection, Doyle and several colleagues contaminated coring devices with soil that contained E. coli O157:H7.
 
The study showed how the bacteria spread from the coring equipment to heads of lettuce. Chlorine spray rinses did not kill enough of the bacteria to wipe it out.
 
"In a processing plant, you'd have to have walls and clean floors," Doyle told the Washington Post.. "But here, they're starting it right out in the dirt. It's a very hazardous practice." 

 James Gorny, senior adviser for produce safety at the Food and Drug Administration, said bagged greens represent a disproportionate number of recalls, chiefly because they're easier to identify than whole produce. But he told The Post that pre-cut produce is not inherently riskier than whole vegetables.

But Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the process of harvesting lettuce, chopping it or tearing it, washing and putting it in a bag is a process similar to mixing ground beef.
 
"You're taking lettuce that could be grown in different areas and batching it together. So if you've got one infected field, you're mixing it with lettuce that would otherwise be uninfected, and now the whole batch is contaminated."
 
As the Post's Lyndsey Layton reported, fresh-cut produce began in the food service industry in the 1980s and then migrated to retail shelves. According to Nielson Co. ratings, pre-cut salad mix was the top-selling fruit or vegetable between January 2009 and January 2010, outselling heads of lettuce by more than 2 to 1.
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Daemen Student Hires E. coli Lawyer For E. coli 0145 HUS Illness Tied to Lettuce

Posted on May 13, 2010 by PritzkerLaw
Food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen has been retained by a  freshman at Daemen College who is suffering from E. coli HUS tied to the Freshway Foods E. coli O145 lettuce outbreak. 
 
The student is one of at least 12 individuals hospitalized  in a romaine lettuce outbreak that has sickened at least 23 individuals in Ohio, Michigan, New York and now Tennessee. She also is one of three who have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening disease that can cause kidney failure, central nervous system damage, bleeding in the brain, pancreatitis and other serious medical conditions.
 
The student's illness required three separate hospitalizations and caused a major setback in her studies at the private liberal arts college in Amherst, New York.  ABC News is reporting that the two other HUS cases in the outbreak were teen-agers in the Wappingers Falls, New York, public school district.
 
Fortunately, no deaths have occurred. 
 
Besides the 23 E. coli O145 illnesses confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the Freshway E. coli outbreak, seven more probable cases are being investigated. Multiple lines of evidence support the finding that shredded romaine lettuce from Freshway, including the Sysco Imperial brand, fueled the outbreak that started last month.
 
The most recent date for an onset of illness in this outbreak was April 26. 
 
The most common strain of E. coli associated with human illness is E. coli O157. Even though other strains, like O145, can be just as dangerous, O157 is the only E. coli strain that is regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 
Fred Pritzker, founder and president of Pritzker Olsen, said in a press release today that any E. coli strain that produces the toxin that causes injury or death in humans, including O145, should be declared an adulterant and regulated by federal and state agencies. 
“Our client’s HUS is no less devastating because it came from O145 rather than O157,'' Pritzker said. 
Ohio-based Freshway Foods and Vaughn Foods of Moore, Oklahoma, have both recalled romaine lettuce sourced from a farm in Yuma, Arizona. Vaughn purchased its lettuce from lettuce broker Andrew Smith Co. The FDA continues to investigate where in the food supply chain the lettuce was contaminated.
 
The recalled lettuce was distributed for use by foodservice establishments and in institutional settings, such as schools. The E. coli O145 outbreak is not related to bagged romaine you buy in the grocery store, although some "grab and go'' salad bars inside grocery stores have carried recalled lettuce.
 
Pritzker Olsen is continuing to accept cases from this outbreak. Our firm has been involved in virtually every major foodborne illness outbreak, Pritzker Olsen attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for victims seriously harmed or killed by foodborne illness. Attorney Fred Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page.
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