E. Coli Outbreak: A Case Study

Chapter 9 of the literature shows the spread of bacteria called E. Coli 0157:H7 as well as its negative effects. E. Coli 0157:H7 was found in the beef and 25 million pounds had already been eaten. The food poisoning was spreading rapidly and 200,000 people got sick. Schlosser claimed that since there is bad in the meat that is why people are getting an ill eating hamburger. Americans were getting afraid and constantly people were getting infected, especially children, elderly, and people with impaired immune systems. According to the literature,“...progressed to diarrhea that filled a hospital toilet with blood… drilling holes in his skull to relieve pressure, inserting tubes in his chest to keep him breathing, as Shia toxins destroyed his

CDC says that 63 people were infected with the outbreak strains of E.Coli 0121 and that 026 have been reported from 24 states. The sickness started from December 21, 2015 to September 5, 2016 and 17 sick people were hospitalized. CDC found out that some people who got sick had to of eaten or dealt with raw dough. FDA’s investigation determined that the raw dough restaurants were using General Mills flour that had to of been produced in November of 2015. General Mills flour manufactured that it was likely to be the source of the outbreak. General Mills contacted all of the costumers who have gotten flour from there and told them about the recall. FDA and General Mills are working together to make sure that the costumers have all been notified.

2. List what it is caused by (specific scientific and common names of the organism: Escherichia coli

The CDC collaborated with public health officials in many states, the US FDA and the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to investigate an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections.

For the seven interviews that the team conducted, three of the cases had eaten hamburger or ground beef, no cases had drunk raw milk, only one case had traveled outside Michigan, no restaurant or social event was identified in common, all of the cases had consumed lettuce, and six had eaten alfalfa sprouts. Appendix A shows the line listing of people who became ill with E.coli or E.coli symptoms from June 15 to July 15. Based on those findings no obvious linkages between patients were found. Appendix B shows the epidemic curve for this outbreak. The epidemic curve showed that the onset of illness among cases occurred from June to July with largest number occurring on June 22nd. Based on the appendix D, DNA fingerprinting

After interviewing 59 of the people they reported eating at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in at least 19 different restaurant locations. The patients were found to be infected with a strain of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26 (STEC O26) (CDC, 2016). But then at the height of this outbreak, at least 120 people who ate at a Boston Chipotle contracted norovirus (Malcolm, 2016). This additional outbreak provided even more complexity to the investigation’s attempt to identify the disease cluster.

In ground beef you can get E. coli because they slaughter the cow and then the E. coli from there intestine gets on the ground meat and they mix the meat and then that gives it a higher risk of spreading it.(Staff Mayo Clinic) In unpasteurized milk it comes from the udder of the cow and then it gets into the milk. (Staff Mayo Clinic) In fresh food it comes from the farms that can contaminate the farm. The most vulnerable to this is lettuce and spinach. (Staff Mayo Clinic) In contaminated water there can be E. coli because it untreated and there is feces in it.(Staff Mayo Clinic) Also personal contact which means that adults can give it to their kids because they do not wash their hands after using the bathroom.(Staff Mayo Clinic) Also it passed in restaurants because cooks or people working back their do not wash their hands. E. coli causes the hemolytic-urine syndrome, which is a blood and kidney disease in children. It can also cause Uninary tract infections and bladder infections or it can lead to sepsis. There is another cause Thrombotic thrombocytopenic Purpura. This is a rare blood disease. It causes clots to form in small blood vessels throughout the body. This usually causes through the infectious parts of E. coli.

Initially, the outbreak and recall was set for bagged spinach on September 14th, but the very next day the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalled all spinach, both bagged and fresh. The outbreak was due to a suspected E. coli O157:H7. Because of the outbreak, 200 people were reported to the CDC from 26 states as having been infected with that particular outbreak strain; more than 100 of those cases were hospitalized, and 31 of them developed a form of kidney failure, which resulted in the deaths of three people. So why is a breakout that may only have affected 200 people so important and relevant to everyone? It’s important to make sure that our food is edible and not contaminated because in this situation with spinach—according to data collected through surveys— nearly half (48%) of Americans reported that they ate fresh spinach before the recall and did so frequently. There was no complete resolution on the exact cause of E. Coli on spinach, but it was believed to be from samples taken from a stream and from feces of cattle and wild pigs present on ranches, due to a genetic match from those who were infected. For some consumers, the spinach recall may be a type of “signal event” indicating a wider problem that they do not yet see as having been solved. Although spinach is something that is generally looked at as “healthy” to its consumers, it is apparent that there is still a problem with the safety and health concerning fresh produce for the public. This occurrence in 2006 was a turning point for many, realizing that even what should be our freshest food can be contaminated, and that more effort needs to be taken in order to protect the public from

O157:H7 strain of E. coli that sickened 40 people in eight states (Glausiusz 1). Additionally,

There has been an outbreak of E-coli in about 16 states early this year, which was related to the romaine lettuce which was acquired from Yuma, Arizona. “The C.D.C. learned that the others infected by that particular strain, E. coli O157:H7, had also eaten chopped romaine lettuce at restaurants before getting sick. It turned over the information to the Food and Drug Administration, which helped trace the outbreak to Yuma, Ariz.”, (Chokshi,2018). The e-coli would have been transmitted through feces which may have come from either a human or an animal. States like Pennsylvania and Idaho have been affected the most.

The U.S. Government needs to figure out why this E. Coli outbreak is happening so that more people do not contract this virus. The outbreaks that occur in multiple different food chains happen more than once a year and it is very common. It needs to stop so that lawsuits and complaints die down. Although most of these outbreaks

With the history and success for the past two decades, CMG has been the center of attraction of various controversies along the way. The latest controversy that the CMG has been involved is the outbreak of E. coli in its multiple locations in the United States. In 2015, it was involved in the E. coli scandal from the months of October to December. According to the investigation done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of February 01, 2016, there were total of 55 infected from the E. coli outbreak in 11 different states (CDC, 2016). Out of 55, almost half (27) was reported in

Health officials first observed the bacteria in the chicken salad of Costco. This alarmed the authorities and ordered for a recall to prevent the consumers from being ill. The health professionals got more concerned when the test on the chicken salad turned out positive. Five people were affected and were brought to the hospital due to the E.coli.

A report done by the CDC indicates that within the year of 2013, there have been two reported cases of E. coli. In one case, and investigation done by local, state and federal officials revealed that two consumptions of ready to eat salads produced by Glass Onion Catering and sold at Trader Joe’s had a total of 33 people infected with an outbreak strain of STEC O157:H7. Of the 33 there was 1 person in Arizona, 28 in California, 1 in Texas and 3 in

coli outbreak itself on November 20th, 2015. It begins with the announcement that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had reduced the number of E. coli incident from 50 cases to 37 cases. The CDC told Chipotle that there were six new cases that match with the E. coli strain that was found in the Oregon and Washington restaurant. Chipotle wrote, “although one of the individuals has no known link to Chipotle, five individuals did report eating at Chipotle, including two in Turlock California, one in Akron, Ohio, one in Amherst, NY, and one in Burnsville, Minnesota” (Arnold, 2015c). Chipotle also pointed out that since their new food safety procedure was implemented, there are no new cases in Oregon and Washington. The press release also pointed out the different steps that they have been doing to help decreases the number of incidents from reoccurring. Also towards the bottom of the press release was a quote from Steve Ells himself, “We offer our sincerest apologies to those who have been affected” (Arnold, 2015c). The press release ended by explaining that there are about 48 million food-related illness in the US and about 265,000 of those cases are related to E.