Columbus Ohio E. coli Outbreak Part of Three-State Study to Find Cause
State, local and federal health authorities are getting close to producing a questionnaire in an attempt to pinpoint the food causing a three-state outbreak of E. coli O145 in central Ohio; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Erie County, New York.
An updated message from Columbus Public Health says the epidemiological questionnaire will compare people who were sickened with others who ate at the same places and did not get sick.
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"This type of study can make for strong evidence as to what made people sick, even if laboratory tests of food samples do not reveal anything. The investigation is expected to take several weeks,'' the agency said.
In Ohio, no new E. coli O145 cases have been found since April 20 so they believe people may have eaten the tainted food sometime between April 1 and April 20. Investigators do not believe all of the cases are related to one particular restaurant or place, but a group of places that may have all received food from the same distributor.
One of the common denominators in the Ohio, Michigan, New York E. coli outbreak is that university students have been among the victims at Ohio State University, University of Michigan and Daemen College in Amherst, New York.
Columbus Public Health said in its latest message on the outbreak that investigators are actively seeking to talk to anyone in the areas of the outbreak who became sick after April 1 with E. coli symptoms of diarrhea and severe stomach cramping.
And while officials previously have only described the bacteria as non-O157 E. coli, they now have confirmed it is E. coli O145 -- one of six non-O157 types that emit Shiga toxin.
Together in the three states, around 60 cases of illness are considered to be part of the outbreak.
As the public investigation continues, law firm Pritzker Olsen is building its own files on the outbreak and is interested in talking to victims. We are in touch with some of the investigating agencies and also believe a common foodservice distributor or foodservice item is behind the outbreak.
To receive a free case consultation, call an E. coli lawyer at our firm at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.
