Wisconsin School E. coli Illnesses Investigated in Monroe and Green County
Abe Lincoln Elementary School in Wisconsin's Monroe School District is the focus of a public health investigation over two child E. coli O157:H7 cases. Investigators want to know if the latest illnesses are associated with a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 cases that occurred elsewhere in the area in August and early September.
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Green County Health Department and Wisconsin Division of Public Health are interviewing families to try to identify possible sources of these E. coli infections. Two children have been hospitalized and area health care providers have been alerted to watch for other cases of E. coli in Green County. Pending lab tests will reveal what strain of E. coli is at work in the most recent illnesses and whether it matches, genetically, the previous cluster, which reportedly included the death of a child at UW Madison hospital who contracted E. coli HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome.
PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is a national food safety law firm that has won tens of millions of dollars for E. coli victims nationwide. We also are investigating the outbreak in the area around Monroe, Wisconsin. If you believe someone in your family has been infected, see a physician immediately. A free case consultation with PritzkerOlsen is available at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or leave your contact information and an experienced E. coli lawyer from our firm will call.
People who are infected with E. coli are very contagious. The highest incidence of illness from Shiga toxin-producing E. coli is in children under 5 years of age. Most people infected with E. coli O157:H7 develop diarrhea (often bloody) and abdominal cramps 2-8 days (3-4 days, on average) after swallowing the organism, but some illnesses last longer and are more severe. Infection is usually diagnosed by stool sample culture. E. coli HUS, on average, develops in 5 to 15 percent of case patients. Kidney failure occurs in these instances just as initial symptoms begin to clear. Many other complications can follow and HUS patients can face a lifetime of special medical risks and issues that should be compensated by the parties responsible for allowing the pathogen into our food supply.
Media source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
