Food Poisoning Law Blog : Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : PritzkerLaw : Food Safety, Outbreaks & Recalls

The NC State Fair E. coli investigation has implicated the Kelley Building, a place where livestock exhibits were held, as the source of the E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 27 people.

The announcement Thursday by NC state epidemiologist Megan Davies said the state has concluded its epidemiologic investigation and will no longer be posting daily case counts related to the outbreak. Eleven people are confirmed outbreak victims and 16 others are linked to the outbreak pending further microbiological testing. At least one of the 11 confirmed victims suffered life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is continuing to accept cases from this outbreak for a NC State Fair lawsuit. This would be the second time in recent NC Fair history where an animal exhibit led to an outbreak. In 2004, scores of people became infected from E. coli bacteria after attending an NC State Fair petting zoo.

For the current outbreak, here's a list of where the victims live, by county:

• Wake - 13 
• Sampson - 6 
• Cleveland - 1 
• Durham - 1 
• Johnston - 1 
• Lenoir - 1 
• Orange - 2 
• Wilson – 2

If you or a loved one have been sickened in this outbreak, contact an E. coli attorney at PritzkerOlsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) for a free case consultation. Our law firm recently won a settlement for a North Carolina family who lost a child to an E. coli infection linked to a goat.

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A North Carolina State Fair E. coli investigation is under way by state and county officials who have confirmed that seven children and two adults have been sickened by E. coli over the same time period. Three of the children remain hospitalized, fighting kidney failure and other symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS. E. coli HUS is a life-threatening complication of toxic E. coli poisoning that happens most often in children under age 5.

Wake County and North Carolina state health officials are now investigating what food or animals at the fair may have caused the outbreak. Eight of the nine case patients attended the event. In 2004, an E. coli outbreak at the North Carolina State Fairr was linked to an animal exhibit. In that case, 108 people were sickened and litigation is still pending.

In the current outbreak, seven individuals are from Raleigh and the rest of Wake County. The eighth and ninth confirmed cases were from outside Wake County – an infected adult in Johnston County and an infected child in Cleveland County.

Investigators also are looking into the possibility of more E. coli illnesses potentially linked to the fair. If you or a loved one has recently experienced bloody diarrhea or other E. coli symptoms, see your health care provider. Make sure to request a stool sample. For answers to legal questions about compensation for present and future harms,  call national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A. at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information and an attorney will call you.

Source: WakeGov.com; WRAL-TV

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Another child has died from an E. coli infection. Health officials are looking at the petting zoo at the Hendricks County Fair as a possible source of the illness.

We are currently representing a family whose little boy contracted an E. coli infection after visiting another petting zoo. In that case, the boy developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), but survived.

Petting zoos at fairs and other locations need to be safer for children:

• Soap and warm, running water should be available for washing hands in or near the petting zoo and at many stations throughout the fairgrounds.
• Most people do not understand that animals can have dangerous pathogens like E. coli O157:H7 on them. Large warning signs with eye-catching graphics should be displayed throughout the petting zoo area and the entire fairgrounds.
• Staff at the petting zoo should discuss the importance of hand washing with visitors.

The family of the young girl who died, Kalei Welch, wants to get out the message about hand washing:

"The petting zoo part of a fair really can be a dangerous place because they're touching the animals," said Marc Monte, senior pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Avon, Indiana, and spokesman for Kalei's family. "The animals sometimes have this bacteria on them. If hands are not washed or if they depend on just the sanitizer, that can be not a good thing."

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Four people who visited the Animal Petting Farm at Forest Park in Everett, Washington have suspected cases of E. coli, according to the Snohomish Health District . One of them, a child, was hospitalized for 3 days.  

Animal manure can harbor E. coli O157 and other dangerous pathogens. If contaminated manure gets on animal fur, it is possible for E. coli bacteria to get on the hands of anyone who pets the animal. Also, the ground and surfaces such as fencing can be contaminated. E. coli is usually associated with cows, but other animals can carry E. coli bacteria. 

Below is a video of Dr. Gary Goldbaum of the Snohomish Health District discussing the E. coli outbreak associated with the Animal Petting Farm in Everett, WA. 

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Three E. coli cases in children who attended the Northwestern Michigan Fair are under investigation by state and county health officials.

The illnesses began in the children between August 15-17. The Grand Traverse County Health Department said the victims appear to be infected with a shiga toxin-producing E. coli strain. E. coli 0157:H7 is the most prevalent shiga toxin E. coli, but there are many other types.

Dr. Michael Collins, medical director for the county health department, told UpNorthLive.com that it seems likely the kids contracted their infections from animals at the fair, but officials also are testing the fairground's water supply.

Because of the cluster of E. coli illnesses, physicians in northwestern Michigan have been put on notice to order stool cultures for people showing symptoms of E. coli infection.

E. coli symptoms include abdominal cramping followed by diarrhea that progressively worsens and is often bloody.

In five to 15 percent of E. coli cases, the toxins enter the bloodstream, causing hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can lead to kidney failure, anemia, internal bleeding, and the destruction of vital organs.

About 5 percent of the children who develop hemolytic uremic syndrome are killed by it. Those who survive are often left with permanent disabilities, such as blindness or paralysis.

If your family is involved in the Northwestern Michigan Fair E. coli cluster, answers to your legal questions about compensation for medical expenses and other harms can be answered by an E. coli lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, P.A. at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). Free case consultations also are available by completing the form on the side of this Web page.

PritzkerOlsen is a leading practitioner of foodborne illness litigation and has a record of winning lawsuits for people infected with E. coli and other pathogens at fairs, livestock shows and petting zoos.

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A Wisconsin petting zoo may be the source of hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, for the 18-month-old daughter of a couple from Lomira, Wisconsin.

The child is battling a life-threatening HUS condition, including full HUS kidney failure, and she is expected to remain hospitalized for several weeks at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Greg Kottke. the toddler's father, told The Northwestern newspaper from Oshkosh that his family wants all parents to know what can happen with E. coli and the signs to watch out for. HUS develops in five to 15 percent of people who contract shiga toxin-producing E. coli -- mostly E. coli 0157:H7 -- and children under 5 are the most susceptible of any age group.

The newspaper story said the parents believe their daughter is yet another victim of a petting zoo E. coli infection. County fair petting zoos and other animal exhibits present a child HUS risk and operators of these events know the risk and have industry guidelines to follow to prevent infection.

Still, some event managers do not comply fully with HUS prevention standards -- including guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- and tragedies occur.

The daughter of Greg Kottke and Julie Lambrecht developed a low-grade fever about five days after visiting the petting zoo on July 25. When she developed bloody diarrhea, they rushed her to the emergency room at St. Agnes Hospital.

"They couldn't find anything really wrong, so we took her home,'' Kottke said.

The next day they brough her to see her pediatrician and she was admitted to the hospital because she was dehydrated. When her kidneys failed, she was transported to the hospital in Milwaukee.

She remains on dialysis and has been receiving blood transfusions.

"She's a doll, a beautiful little girl, the highlight of my days," Kottke said of his daughter. The family still has hope she will have a full recovery but it is a long waiting game. 

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In petting zoo E. coli outbreaks, the primary mode of transmission is from feces of an animal to the mouth of the person by unconscious hand-to-mouth contact. That's because animal fur, skin, saliva and living areas can become contaminated with fecal germs.

Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, a national food safety law firm with expertise in all cases involving E. coli O157:H7, is investigating a possible outbreak at Sponsel's Minnesota Harvest Petting Zoo near Jordan, Minnesota.

Our firm represents a 3-year-old boy who apparently became infected with E. coli O157:H7 from a llama at the zoo and we believe there could be at least one more person who also is a victim.

The child spent 11 days this month in a Twin Cities hospital fighting hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a life-threatening complication of an E. coli O157 infection.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) found a strain of E. coli O157:H7 in the feces of a llama at the petting  zoo that genetically matched the strain of  E. coli O157:H7 that sickened the toddler.

The petting zoo has been voluntarily and temporarily shut down.  The apple orchard at Sponsel’s Minnesota Harvest is not associated with this potential E. coli outbreak. The attraction is located about 12 miles south of Shakopee.

E. coli O157:H7 is one of the most common and most dangerous kinds of intestinal disease agents associated with animal contact. Pritzker Olsen also represents victims of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at this year’s National Western Stock Show in Denver.

“Despite state guidelines recommending sanitation measures to ensure the safety of visitors to petting zoos, it  appears the operator of this facility did not follow all of these guidelines,” stated Attorney Fred Pritzker. 

For a free consultation with an attorney regarding your E. coli poisoning case, please call 612-338-0202, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form., 

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This week’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a CDC publication, has an article about an E. coli outbreak associated with a day camp petting zoo:

On June 7, 2007, the Pinellas County Health Department in central Florida was notified by a private physician regarding a positive laboratory result for Shiga toxin--producing Escherichia coli O157 (STEC O157) infection in a child aged 9 years. Initial interviews revealed the child had attended a week-long session at a day camp and had come into contact with animals in the camp's petting zoo. On June 8, an investigation was begun by the Pinellas County Health Department; the same day, the petting zoo was closed on the recommendation of the health department.

The outbreak investigation identified seven cases of E. coli O157 infection: four laboratory-confirmed primary cases, two probable primary cases, and one laboratory-confirmed secondary case, all associated directly or indirectly with the petting zoo. Two children were hospitalized.

The symptoms reported were as follows:

• Diarrhea with bloody stools (four patients)
• Diarrhea without bloody stools (three)
• Abdominal cramping (four)
• Nausea (two)
• Vomiting (two)
• Fever (two)

Both epidemiological and microbiological evidence associated the petting zoo with the E. coli outbreak:

All four campers with primary confirmed cases reported contact (e.g., petting, carrying, and feeding) with the petting zoo animals. Direct contact with the animals also was reported by a camper with probable infection; whether the second camper with probable infection had animal contact was unknown. Investigation revealed no common food, beverage, or recreational water exposures that might account for the STEC O157 infections.

Stool specimens from five of the seven children were collected during May 31--June 12. Specimens from the 30 zoo animals and four soil samples from the grounds of the petting zoo were collected by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on July 23. Four human clinical isolates of E. coli O157:NM (nonmotile), nine isolates from goats, and all four soil isolates had an identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern (EXHX01.0202) when tested at the Florida Public Health Laboratory. The PFGE pattern did not match any of the 30 other STEC O157 strains collected in Florida's E. coli database in 2007 and did not match any of the strains in the CDC PulseNet database. One isolate from a goat had a different PFGE pattern from the human clinical isolates.

On June 8, the first day of the Pinellas County Health Department investigation, the petting zoo was closed on the recommendation of the county health department. The zoo animals were placed under quarantine for E. coli O157:NM colonization. Subsequently, no additional cases of STEC O157 infection were reported among campers or staff members.

This a good reminder to petting zoo operators that they should adhere to CDC guidelines for supervised handwashing and other prevention measures (e.g., no eating near the pens) when children are around animals.

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A petting zoo in Greenville, N.C., has been temporarily closed as a precaution while health officials investigate the cause of at least two recently confirmed E. coli infections in children.

The infections were among several identified last week by the Beaufort County Health Department. The department has been working with area schools to make parents aware of a potential outbreak and WNCT-TV reported that the petting zoo will remain closed until officials know where the infections are coming from. The health officials have reminded parents of the importance of hand-washing after adults or children come in contact with livestock or other farm animals.

The station said the county also is working with health care clinics to indentify and test for additional cases.

E. coli symptoms can appear one to 10 days after exposure to the pathogenic bacteria. The symptoms range from mild diarrhea to severe abdominal cramps and bloody stools, but you may display no symptoms at all.  E. coli is a leading cause of bloody diarrhea. These symptoms are more severe in children, the elderly and in those who have another illness. 

Though most people recover from an E. coli infection, some of those infected develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is a severe and life-threatening complication.  

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