BJ's Wholesale Club Hamburger E. coli
BJ's Wholesale Club stores in eight northeastern and eastern states have been identified as retailers that sold Cargill ground beef that was potentially contaminated with E. coli 026.
Cargill's recall of 8,500 pounds of hamburger meat affects BJ's Wholesale Club customers in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey.
Public health officials in Maine and New York have traced at least three E. coli 026 infections to the Cargill hamburger, which was produced June 11 for use or freezing by July 1. Two of the illnesses are in Maine and one is in New York. The first infection took hold on June 24.
Maine officials brought the E. coli cluster to the attention of federal authorities, including USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service in early August. The three people sickened in this outbreak fell ill with the identical strain of E. coli 026 -- one of many shiga toxin-producing E. coli types. (The most prevalent is O157:H7).
Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is among parties concerned that the outbreak could spread if consumers unknowingly pull tainted meat from their home freezers. Eating ground beef is a well-established mode of shiga toxin E. coli (STEC) transmission, including for serotype 026.
Cargill E. coli lawsuits have been filed in the past and PritzkerOlsen is conducting its own investigation into the current ground beef recall and cluster of E. coli 026 illnesses. To contact our firm call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page. An E. coli lawyer will consult with you at no charge.
Symptoms of E.coli include abdominal cramping followed by diarrhea that progressively worsens and is often bloody. Healthy adults can withstand infections, sometimes without treatment. But young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are at risk for severe illness.
In 5 to 15 percent of infections, patients develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS is a life-threatening condition in which the body’s blood-clotting mechanisms are altered, causing blocked circulation, kidney failure, bleeding in the brain and other health consequences. Do not make the mistake of taking E. coli 026 lightly, especially in hamburger.
