St. Louis Area Schnucks E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak Has Elusive Food Source
The St. Louis area E. coli O157:H7 outbreak has been linked to Schnucks because a statistically high number of the outbreak victims ate food purchased at a Schnucks salad bar prior to illness. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is leading a team of local, federal, and state public health experts in investigating the cause of the E. coli outbreak. The investigation involves laboratory analysis, environmental sampling and interviews of reported cases. This information is then combined to determine the possible cause(s) of the outbreak.
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Numbers Update - October 7 to November 5 |
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| Number of individuals confirmed to have E. coli connected to the St. Louis investigation: | 27 |
| Number of food samples, connected to the St. Louis outbreak, tested to date: | 55 |
| Number of food samples confirmed to have E. Coli: | 0 |
DHSS added two new cases based on lab results from specimens submitted to the State Public Health Laboratory last week. The two cases have the same E. coli O157:H7 fingerprint as that observed in the outbreak. One of the specimens is from a person in Boone County. That case is being added to the count because the individual reported spending time in St. Louis during the timeframe established by the investigative team for the outbreak. Investigators continue to work with public health officials to determine whether three other specimens previously submitted from Boone County are connected to the outbreak.
As indicated above, DHSS has tested 55 food samples in its search for the source of the outbreak. All of the samples have come back negative so far. This does not mean the E. coli victims do not have legal rights against Schnucks.
A few days ago, the FDA, working with DHSS, began to inspect facilities of distributors and/or producers located outside of Missouri. If the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 is found at a distributor's plant facility, both Schnucks and the distributor may be held liable for the illnesses suffered by the E. coli vicitms.
