Another E coli Petting Zoo Case
Our law firm sent out the following press release today. It underscores what is a growing problem in Minnesota and elsewhere in the country — enteric diseases transmitted at animal shows and petting zoos. This time the victim was a 3-year-old Minnesota boy who developed life-threatening Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, or HUS. When will owners of these venues start following the many guidelines officially set forward by the industry and endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?
MINNEAPOLIS, October 25, 2009–(Press Release)–Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, one of America’s leading food safety law firms and experts in cases involving E .coli O157:H7, has been retained to represent a 3½ year-old child sickened with E .coli O157:H7 poisoning and Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. The child is believed to have contracted the illness at a local apple orchard and petting zoo in the Twin Cities metro area of Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Preliminary testing indicates that the genetic fingerprint of the E .coli O157:H7 sample obtained from the child’s stool matches the genetic fingerprint of E. coli from llama feces tested at the petting zoo.
Petting zoos are a well recognized source of E .coli O157:H7 poisoning and have been implicated in several outbreaks in recent years. The Minnesota Department of Heath, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, Inc. (NASPHV), among other organizations, have all issued pathogen reduction guidelines and instructions for operators of petting zoos and similar facilities.
Fred Pritzker is founding partner of Pritzker Olsen and the lawyer representing the child in this outbreak and children in other E .coli O157:H7-petting zoo cases. “Despite the frequency and severity of these kinds of cases, it does not appear the operator of this facility took the necessary precautions to prevent this child’s severe injuries,” Pritzker said. “This is all the more tragic because the place catered to children and kids are particularly vulnerable to E .coli O157:H7 and the horrible syndrome that frequently develops from it, HUS.”
There may be other victims from this outbreak. Unconfirmed reports indicate that an older person may also have developed E .coli O157:H7 poisoning and HUS after visiting the same business. In the child’s case, he spent 11 days in the hospital and could face long-term health consequences.
If you or a loved one developed E .coli O157:H7 poisoning and Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome after visiting a local apple orchard and petting zoo, please contact the lawyers at Pritzker Olsen at 612-338-0202, 800-377-8900 or via email at fhp@pritzkerlaw.com. If you prefer to contact the firm online, go to my contact and information form.
Adults Failed Lincoln Middle School Students Sickened with E. coli
PROVIDENCE, RI — (Press Release)– Two students from Lincoln Middle School in Lincoln, Rhode Island, were hospitalized several days after a school field trip earlier this month to Camp Bournedale in Plymouth, Massachusetts. More than a dozen other students also were sickened.
Two of the students who attended the camp have tested positive for E. coli O157:H7, a serious illness that can lead to severe dehydration, hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the leading cause of kidney failure in children around the world.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the USDA are investigating foods at the camp as the likely source of this illness, according to the Rhode Island Department of Health.
The USDA involvement suggests that the source of this outbreak is contaminated meat served at Camp Bournedale. If so, these children were sickened because the slaughterhouse and/or the processor of the meat allowed cattle feces to get into the meat and did not do enough testing to discover the contamination. In addition, the camp, if it is involved, did not cook the meat well enough to kill the E. coli bacteria. Many adults failed these children.
“The American public should not have to guess about the safety of food served to children,” said Attorney Fred Pritzker, one of the nation’s most experienced practitioners of foodborne illness litigation.
Pritzker’s national food safety law firm has represented victims of most major E. coli outbreaks in the United States. The firm also recently represented families whose children suffered Salmonella poisoning at an environmental camp in Madison, New Hampshire. The cause of that outbreak was contaminated pudding.
“More resources must be devoted to federal food safety. The current system is undermined by too much fragmentation of responsibility and not enough coordination between federal, state and local agencies,” Pritzker said.
“One also has to wonder if microbiological testing is lax,” Pritzker said. “Ground beef and other meat products should not be allowed to leave the manufacturer unless their safety is confirmed. Eating a hamburger should not be a high-risk activity.”
Pritzker Olsen, P.A., is one of the few law firms in the United States that practices extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. The firm has collected millions of dollars on behalf of victims of E. coli poisoning and other foodborne illnesses. For more information, contact Fred Pritzker at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or email Fred at fhp@pritzkerlaw.com.
Leafy Greens called riskiest of FDA-watched Foods
Excluding meat — which is regulated by the USDA — a non-profit consumer group from Washington, D.C., has come out with a list of the riskiest foods currently regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Topping the list is leafy green vegetables, including iceberg lettuce, spinach, cale, romaine and others. Center for Science in the Public Interest said the food group has been linked to the most food poisoning outbreaks — 363 from 1990 to 2006. The outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Norovirus and other pathogens have caused more than 13,500 illnesses, the report said.
The consumer watchdog group acknowledged that leafy greens are among the healthiest of foods when not contaminated with harmful bacteria. But there are compelling reasons why consumers should be wary of them:
- They grow close to the ground, where they come in contact with manure, water runoff and wild animal feces — all of which can harbor pathogens.
- Cutting and bagging the greens allows microbes to enter the plants and flourish before the bags are opened.
- They are often eaten raw, without being processed with the normal kill step of applied heat.
- Machinery used in processing can cross-contaminate production lots and expand problems.
One of the worst of these outbreaks came in 2006. The Dole bagged baby spinach E. coli outbreak sickened 200 people in 26 states and caused three deaths.
The lead author of the Center for Science in the Public Interest report was Sarah Klein. Here, in order, are the next four riskiest foods that she cited.
- Eggs — 352 outbreaks; 11,163 illnesses
- Tuna — 268 outbreaks; 2,341 illnesses
- Oysters — 132 outbreaks; 3409 illnesses
- Potatoes — 108 outbreaks; 3659 illnesses
E coli in the Brain: Tragic and Not Fully Understood
Since hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the United States, it receives a lot of attention as one of the most dangerous complications than can spill from an E. coli O157:H7 infection.
Less common but just as frightening is E. coli in the brain, also known as E. coli meningitis. As is the case with most foodborne infectious diseases, the people most vulnerable to this complication are young children and older adults. We have seen cases in children, for instance, where they have recovered but suffered brain damage to the extent where they have had to re-learn how to read. It’s heartbreaking stuff and scary because science still doesn’t comprehend it well enough to prevent it or advance the treatment of it.1
To better understand E. coli in the brain, let’s step back and look at the organism itself. Not all E. coli microbes are capable of causing this condition. The prime culprit is E. coli O157:H7, which emits Shiga toxin. Other serotypes of E. coli also produce Shiga toxin and are equally destructive and dangerous.
E. coli organisms swim and fall like wacky submarines. Each one sprouts a half-dozen propellers from its cigar-shaped body that are in the form of whips. The whips have hooks on the end that help them grab the walls of large intestine, which is their favorite habitat. They swim fast — about 10 lengths of their own body per second.
E. coli bacteria cause diarrhea, often bloody. These micro-bugs feed off the iron in the blood and when they cluster in sufficient strength, they can infect the bloodstream.
One of the body’s key defense systems against bacterial and viral infection is the blood-brain barrier, which blocks foreign particles but allows nutrition to pass into the central nervous system to keep cells healthy. Shiga toxin-producing E. coli somehow penetrate the defense system by interacting chemically with brain microvascular endothelial cells that help make up the blood-brain barrier.
These interactions during the invasion are the focus of continuing study of how to prevent E. coli in the brain. People who develop this complication, which includes inflammation of the brain membrane, can suffer brain injury, spinal cord damage or death. Possible advanced symptoms include seizures, altered consciousness, behavioral changes, double vision and dizziness. Early symptoms can include headache, fever and stiff neck.
To have an attorney at national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys review your E. coli in the brain case free of charge, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). You could also complete an online form to receive a free case consultation.
The firm is dedicated to prevention of foodborne illness and has been an advocate for improving food safety legislation and inspection.
1Source: Strategy of Escherichia coli for Crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier
Kwang Sik Kim Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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