North Carolina State Fair E. coli Exposure Studied by State Health Officials
A North Carolina State Fair E. coli investigation is under way by state and county officials who have confirmed that seven children and two adults have been sickened by E. coli over the same time period. Three of the children remain hospitalized, fighting kidney failure and other symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS. E. coli HUS is a life-threatening complication of toxic E. coli poisoning that happens most often in children under age 5.
Wake County and North Carolina state health officials are now investigating what food or animals at the fair may have caused the outbreak. Eight of the nine case patients attended the event. In 2004, an E. coli outbreak at the North Carolina State Fairr was linked to an animal exhibit. In that case, 108 people were sickened and litigation is still pending.
In the current outbreak, seven individuals are from Raleigh and the rest of Wake County. The eighth and ninth confirmed cases were from outside Wake County – an infected adult in Johnston County and an infected child in Cleveland County.
Investigators also are looking into the possibility of more E. coli illnesses potentially linked to the fair. If you or a loved one has recently experienced bloody diarrhea or other E. coli symptoms, see your health care provider. Make sure to request a stool sample. For answers to legal questions about compensation for present and future harms, call national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A. at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information and an attorney will call you.
Source: WakeGov.com; WRAL-TV
