To speak to an E. coli Lawyer, or to inquire about an E. coli Lawsuit, call 1-888-335-4901.
E. coli Lawyer Update: One Dead and Twenty Ill Due to a Mysterious E. coli Outbreak.
An E. coli O157: H7 outbreak was announced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 28, 2020. The source of the outbreak is still unknown but the FDA has decided to inform the public about a multi-state outbreak due to the number of cases reported from 8 different states thus far. According to the information provided by the FDA, a total of 21 laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported from 8 states so far. Out of the cases linked to the outbreak, 8 people have required hospitalization and sadly one death was also reported as linked to the outbreak.
The FDA has stated that they are currently investigating this recent outbreak along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and both local and state health officials. According to the CDC, this recent E. coli outbreak strain seems to be genetically related to a larger, diverse genetic cluster including the strain that caused the STEC outbreak in 2018, linked to romaine lettuce and environmental isolates from the Yuma, Arizona growing region. The death linked to the outbreak was reported from Michigan and according to the information provided by the CDC, the individual’s infection caused him to develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure.
The CDC has stated that public health officials are continuing to interview the people affected by the outbreak to try and identify the point of exposure. The FDA is conducting farm inspections, sampling, and traceback investigations but no specific food has been announced as of yet. Although the outbreak strain matches the outbreak strain of the 2018 STEC outbreak, the CDC stated that this is not enough to prove that the same product could be the cause of the current outbreak since different foods can be contaminated by the same strain of bacteria.
People who exhibit symptoms of E. coli such as stomach cramps, fatigue, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea that can at times be bloody should contact a medical health care provider and request a stool culture. The CDC is not advising to avoid any particular food at this but they are urging people to practice proper food cleaning procedures to minimize the number of people becoming ill. Ron Simon, a national E. coli Lawyer, stated:
“Around 5–10% of those who are diagnosed with STEC infection develop a potentially life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The complication occurs more frequently in cases of children with STEC diarrhea; approximately 15% of these children develop HUS, which constitutes a significant cause of acute renal failure in children.”
To speak to an E. coli Lawyer, or to inquire about an E. coli Lawsuit, call 1-888-335-4901.
