E. coli Victim Released from Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur, MO: Did Strawberries Make Her Sick?
Fruits and vegetables are the foundation of a healthy diet, but, like all foods, they carry a risk of foodborne illness. Harmful bacteria in the soil or water can contaminate produce where it grows. Or, fresh produce may become contaminated after it is harvested, during packing, storage or preparation. Eating contaminated produce can cause serious illness as Lindsay Schuessler, a 25-year-old elementary school teacher, discovered this week.
Schuessler was released from Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur on October 27 after being admitted over the weekend with an E. coli infection. Health officials who interviewed Schuessler about what she had eaten in the past seven to 10 days focused on fruits and vegetables, she told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. When county health officials visited her University City home, they removed some produce including strawberries and blueberries that she had purchased from the Schnucks grocery store at Ladue Road and Interstate 170, she told the paper.
Schuessler prepared and ate a salad from items she purchased from the store on October 16 and ate more produce including prepackaged salad throughout the week. The onset of illness was sudden and intense and left Schuessler weakened and exhausted, she said in the article. Her boyfriend, who did not eat the produce, did not get sick. "I try to eat so healthy, and I'm the one who got sick," she said in the story.
During the last month, four companies have announced recalls on salad greens. Over the summer, a papaya Salmonella outbreak sickened more than 100 people, 15 people got E. coli poisoning after eating strawberries and 20 people got Salmonellosis from cantaloupe. And the ongoing cantaloupe Listeria outbreak has sickened 133 people and killed 28 and caused one miscarriage.
The source of this E. coli outbreak has not been determined, but health officials urge anyone in St. Louis County with symptoms of an E. coli infcetion to contact a health provider. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, nausea and sometimes a fever. Complications of E. coli include hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or TTP HUS, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, which can cause kidney failure, stroke, heart attacks, and brain injuries. And even a person with a mild case of E. coli can be at long-term risk for hypertension and kidney problems.
National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is investigating the St. Louis outbreak. Our legal group currently represents E. coli victims and is one of the very few law firms in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. Free case consultations are available at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or submit your contact information online and an attorney will call you.
Source: http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/fitness/article_3d050caf-9619-5b57-97cc-b1c682c01c67.html#ixzz1c5Dh7QAY
