Three suspected cases of mystery e-coli in US

[AntZ]

Three suspected cases of mystery e-coli in US




WASHINGTON (AFP) – Health officials said Thursday three people in the United States are suspected to have fallen ill from e-coli bacteria after traveling to Germany where the mystery outbreak has killed 17.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was awaiting blood samples before any confirmation could be made, spokesman Tom Skinner told AFP. The suspected cases were not fatal.

Earlier, Britain said seven people there had been infected with the bacteria, including three British nationals who had recently traveled to Germany and four German nationals.

A total of 18 people in Europe have died from the outbreak, all but one of them in Germany.

German authorities have failed to pinpoint the source of the bacteria, which has sickened more than 2,000 people in the last month, but have warned consumers against eating raw vegetables.

The Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) has caused full-blown haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a potentially deadly disease that causes bloody diarrhea and serious liver damage, in 500 of those infected.

There were contradictory accounts as to whether the strain of E. coli was new, or whether Europe was witnessing the first outbreak of a rare but known type of bacteria that officials believe is carried by raw vegetables.

The outbreak was initially blamed on Spanish cucumbers by German officials who later admitted that they were in the dark about its origin.

[Muddy]

I wish they would pinpoint where..

[deebakes]

I think its the cupchicks that did this :-k

[Arkady Renko]

I wish they'd find out the transmision path at last. I hate having to worry what I can feed the kids.

[AntZ]

I wish they'd find out the transmision path at last. I hate having to worry what I can feed the kids.


There are those interesting Medical Detective shows that talk about different cases of E-coli and other poisonings. It is absolutely amazing how cases were solved when there was no evidence to even start with. Like the case of three children becoming violently ill, in two different states, and two died. After endless dead-ends, they eventually traced it to an organic juice company that bought it's fruit from California. After going to the orchard, the doctors saw some deer near by, he had a funny feeling and started to notice that there was deer shit everywhere so he took a sample. Sure enough, it had the DNA strain of the e-coli that killed one of the kids. they eventually found out that the pickers were forbidden from picking up fruit that has fallen from trees and they had done it anyways. Because the juice company prided itself from NOT pasteurizing the juice from that great fresh taste, the shit contaminated fruit made it's way all the way to the children.

This is the article when they first traced it to the juice company:



E. coli poisoning leads to Odwalla juice recall
November 01, 1996



CNN - E. coli bacteria has caused an outbreak of food poisoning on the West Coast. But unlike many past cases, the bug has been traced to a fruit juice, not hamburger meat.

Californiabased Odwalla Inc., the maker of Odwalla fruit juices, issued a nationwide recall Wednesday of all its products containing apple juice after health officials linked it to an outbreak of E. coli bacterial poisoning.

The company, based in Half Moon Bay, California, also is recalling its carrot and vegetable juices as a precaution.

Health officials in Washington state linked 10 of 13 cases of E. coli infection to Odwalla fruit juices. In Colorado, officials said at least four cases of E. coli poisoning was most likely associated with Odwalla juices.

Greg Steltenpohl of Odwalla said the company was issuing its recall because its primary concern is for the safety and health of its customers. 17 sec.184K AIFF or WAV sound

Thirteen types of juice were being pulled from the shelves of stores in seven Western states and Canada. While they all contain some form of apple juice, some, like Blackberry Fruitshake, do not have apple in their names.

The other potentially tainted Odwalla flavors are Mango Tango, Super Protein, Strawberry Banana Smoothie, Raspberry Smoothie, CMonster, MoBeta, Femme Vitale, Strawberry CMonster, Superfood, Serious Ginseng and Deep in Peach.

Odwalla sells 12 other products, from strawberry lemonade to a vegetable cocktail, that do not contain apple juice and are not affected by the recall. People who have bought Odwalla products containing apple juice should discard them, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler said.10 sec.105K AIFF or WAV sound

Most of the poisoning victims have been children. Two remained hospitalized; the other victims were not seriously ill. Symptoms include diarrhea and cramping.

Health officials used dietary histories taken from the victims and genetic fingerprinting of the bacteria to trace the outbreak to a batch of unpasteurized apple juice that Odwalla uses as an ingredient in many of its mixedfruit beverages.

No one is sure how the apples became contaminated, but medical experts said the strain of E. coli typically lives in the intestines of cows.

Don Schlimme with the University of Maryland suggested the apples could have become contaminated through feces from cows grazing near an apple orchard. 10 sec.103K AIFF or WAV sound

Pasteurization, which involves heat treatment, would have killed the bacteria in the Odwalla products. Health officials said when people drink nonpasteurized juice, they run the risk of becoming sick. They suggest boiling juice first.

But authorities also said most juices sold in stores are safe.

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

1996 Cable News Network, Inc.All Rights Reserved.

Eating your veggies not always so good for you September 11, 1996Japan tries antibiotics in baffling E. coli outbreak July 29, 1996

USDA Answering Your Questions on E. coli


Full details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odwalla

[Arkady Renko]

with the large number of cases you'd think it should be easier to determine the common denominator, the one product they all ate, but apparently all the leads that came up so far were cold, not only the spanish cucumbers but also canned Leberwurst and cheese made of unpasteurized milk. My guess is that the source could be a pre-product that's used for all sorts of finished foods.

[Acid Trip]

My guess is that the source could be a pre-product that's used for all sorts of finished foods.

I sincerely hope you are wrong. If you are right it's going to be hard to track down and stop.

[Arkady Renko]

Apparently I was about right, the source now seems to be a farm where they produced thousands of tons of soy and azuki bean shoots per month. Those were used in salads, asian dishes and pickles.