Officials Still Searching For Source of North Carolina E. Coli Outbreak
After two weeks of investigation, North Carolina health officials have been unable to pinpoint the specific source of the E. coli outbreak associated with the North Carolina State Fair.
State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler told WRAL.com that he and other investigators are “perplexed” by the outbreak that includes 12 confirmed cases and 16 possible cases, according to the latest update from the N.C. Division of Public Health.
Troxler said safety is a priority at the fair, particularly after a 2004 E. coli outbreak linked to a petting zoo at the fair sickened 108 people. After that outbreak, a state law was passed requiring sanitation stations throughout the fair. In addition, Troxler said, all animals competing at the fair are inspected by a state vet, a private vet certifies the health of all petting zoo animals and the food vendors are all inspected at least once.
Investigators are awaiting results from some lab tests that may shed light on the outbreak. They have also established a case study control group of nearly 1,000 fairgoers who didn’t get sick.
The confirmed and suspected cases are from eight counties: Wake(13), Sampson( 6), Cleveland (1), Durham (2), Johnston (1), Lenoir, (1), Orange (2) and Wilson (2), according to the N.C. Division of Public Health.
Several of these cases are children who developed a severe complication of an E. coli infection called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the United States. Children with HUS are generally hospitalized for weeks or months and many require future kidney transplants.
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