Idaho Child Dies in Utah from Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome
Kyle Algood, 2, of Chubbuck, Idaho, died on September 20, 2006, in a Utah hospital. He had eaten packaged spinach. Tests are being done to determine if he had an E. coli O157:H7 infection associated with the E. coli outbreak linked to spinach that has sickened over 150 people in 23 states.
What is known about Kyle's death is that he died from complications of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the United States. Most cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome are caused by E. coli O157:H7 infections.
Two other toddlers died from E. coli-related HUS this month, one in Ohio and one in Alabama. E. coli O157:H7 is a silent killer that can't be seen, tasted or smelled. Parents can't know that what a child is eating might kill him.
Consumers did not even consider that spinach could kill someone until this outbreak. But the CDC, the FDA, the USDA, state regulators, growers, distributers, and others knew of the risks. The FDA's response to the 2005 outbreak linked to Dole salad was a warning letter to the lettuce and spinach industry. No new regulations were enacted, even though the FDA knew that spinach was being grown in California's Salanis Valley, where there is periodic flooding and contaminated irrigation water.
This current outbreak is so widespread that federal legislators in the House and Senate are finally taking notice. There is a lot of passing-the-buck rhetoric coming out of Washington, but perhaps something will finally be done. Whatever happens, it is too late for Kyle.
To contact a lawyer at Pritzker | Ruohonen, call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900, e-mail fhp@pritzkerlaw.com or fill out the online, attorney-consultation form. Read about E. coli lawyer Fred Pritzker on the Pritzker | Ruohonen website, www.pritzkerlaw.com.
