2 Vermont Children Sickened with E. coli-Related HUS
Two Vermont children are being treated for E. coli-related hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which has, in both cases, led to kidney failure. Most cases of HUS in the United States are caused by E. coli, usually E. coli O157:H7.
E. coli can be spread via food, water, infected people, and animals. Throughout the summer, communities have to test beach water for E. coli, and tests on beach sand have indicated E. coli contamination. Recent E. coli outbreaks have involved ground beef, other beef cuts, spinach, lettuce, an infected child at a backyard waterslide party (several other children and an adult at the party contracted E. coli infections), and what may be one of the oddest sources of an E. coli outbreak, a goat slaughtered in a restaurant’s kitchen. The goat is not the confirmed source of the outbreak, but it is the most likely source.
Sadly, E. coli is extremely dangerous to children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. One woman, Faye Sides, died in the E. coli outbreak involving the goat. Most other E. coli outbreaks also result in at least one death and several cases of serious illness, mostly HUS.
The sources of these two cases of E. coli and HUS in Vermont may never be found. However, if DNA fingerprinting has not been done on the E. coli cultures collected from these two children, it needs to be done. We had a situation where a toddler died of E. coli-related HUS just days before a nationwide E. coli outbreak was announced. DNA fingerprinting had not been done (our firm was not contacted until days after the child died), and the child’s case of E. coli could not be linked to the outbreak.
If you have any questions about DNA fingerprinting, please contact Pritzker law, one of the leading food poisoning litigation law firms in the United States. To contact the firm, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm’s online consultation form for review by an E. coli lawyer.
