CDC Update: E. coli Outbreak Linked to Topp's Ground Beef Patties
The following is the latest update from the CDC:
Several state health departments, CDC, and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections. On September 29, USDA issued a notice about a recall of 21.7 millions pounds of frozen ground beef patties. [The September 29 recall was an expansion of a September 25 recall of 300,000 of Topps ground beef patties. See a list of recalled Topps hamburger products.]
Health officials in several states who were investigating reports of E. coli O157 illnesses found that many ill persons had consumed the same brand of frozen ground beef patties. Ground beef patties recovered from patients' homes were tested by state public health department and federal laboratories. Tests conducted by the New York State Wadsworth Center Laboratory and by a USDA-FSIS laboratory on opened and unopened packages of Topp's brand frozen ground beef patties yielded E. coli O157 isolates with several different “DNA fingerprint” patterns.
Investigators compared the “DNA fingerprints” patterns of E. coli O157 strains found in ground beef with “DNA fingerprints” patterns of E. coli O157 strains isolated from ill persons. As of 12 PM (ET) October 3, 2007, 29 cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection have been identified with PFGE patterns that match at least one of the patterns of E. coli strains found in Topp's brand frozen ground beef patties. Ill persons reside in 8 states [Connecticut (2), Florida (1), Indiana (1), Maine (1), New Jersey (6), New York (9), Ohio (1), and Pennsylvania (8)]. Nineteen (90%) of 21 patients with a detailed food history consumed ground beef. Three illnesses have confirmed associations with recalled products because the strain isolated from the person was also isolated from the meat in their home. The first reported illness began on July 5, 2007, and the last began on September11, 2007. Among sixteen ill persons for whom hospitalization status is known, eleven (69%) patients were hospitalized. One patient developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). No deaths have been reported. Thirteen (45%) patients are female. The ages of patients range from 3 to 77 years; 48% are between 15 and 24 years old (only 14% of the US population is in this age group).
[Our law firm has had several contacts from people who ate Topps ground beef patties and are now sick. We suspect that the number of confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 linked to Topps ground beef patties will continue to grow.]
Consumers who have frozen ground beef patties should determine whether they have the recalled product and discard it or return it to the place of purchase. [IF SOMEONE HAS EATEN SOME OF THE TOPPS GROUND BEEF PATTIES, DO NOT THROW THEM OUT OR RETURN THEM. THEY MAY BE NEEDED FOR EVIDENCE. KEEP THEM FOR ABOUT 10 AFTER THE SOMEONE LAST CONSUMED SOME OF THE PATTIES. IF NO ONE DEVELOPS AN E. COLI INFECTION, THROW THEM OUT OR RETURN THEM. IF SOMEONE IS DIAGNOSED WITH E. COLI, CONTACT PRITZKER LAW IMMEDIATELY.]
Each recalled package bears the establishment number “Est. 9748” inside the USDA mark of inspection and has a sell-by date between “SEP 25 07” and “SEP 25 08.”
Attorney Fred Pritzker practices extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and is currently representing victims of E. coli outbreaks linked to ground beef, spinach, and lettuce. The firm is also representing the families of people who died due to E. coli-related hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). E. coli-related HUS is the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the United States and the primary cause of E. coli deaths in children and adults. 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.
