Texas E. coli Outbreak Associated with Jason's Deli
A Central Texas E. coli outbreak may have been caused by food served at Jason’s Deli in Killeen, Texas. Epidemiological evidence points to guacamole used as spread for the "California Club" sandwich at the deli as the most likely source of the outbreak, according to News Channel 25.
Channel 25 reports that investigators “concluded that the guacamole was likely contaminated on-site, possibly by an object or employee during the food preparation stage.” If a restaurant food handler has E. coli, the bacteria can be transmitted to others if food is contaminated with the food handler’s feces (poop). Two simple measures can prevent this: 1) adequate hand washing and 2) sending home food handlers who are sick with gastrointestinal illness involving vomiting or diarrhea.
Here are the basics of the outbreak as reported by Channel 25:
A report of five confirmed cases of E. coli stemming from an undisclosed Killeen restaurant left many Central Texans demanding to know exactly where the contamination came from.
The cases date back to April 2011, when at least 11 people became sick after eating at a local restaurant. Doctors confirmed five of them had a strain of the bacteria Escherichia coli (O157:H7) that has been known to result in hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), a potentially fatal complication that can lead to kidney failure. Two were hospitalized.
