Two children and one adult in the Maple Rapids area of Michigan have become infected with E. coli bacteria.



This story from the Morning Sun is a little all over the place, but does report that two children have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome as a result of the infections and have been hospitalized.

“This strain of E.coli is very potent and troublesome,” said Dr. Robert Graham, medical director for the Mid-Michigan District Health Department. “We urge everyone to take precautions to prevent becoming infected by this germ. What’s troublesome is that these last three cases aren’t the only ones to have this particular strain of E. coli.



Graham said that during the summer, three other cases of the same strain were reported. Those people had attended the Clinton County Fair and that strain of E. coli came from a meat packing company called McNeese, located in the thumb.

Government-types love to bury the lede.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) thinks the most important part of a recall is … the recall.

I think the most important part of a recall is whether or not there are sick people.

Working in conjunction with the Michigan Departments of Community Health (MDCH) and Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), 3 case-patients in Michigan have been identified with illness onset dates between July 18 and July 28, 2011. As a result of the epidemiologic investigation, FSIS determined there is a link between the ground beef products and the illnesses in Michigan.

McNees Meats and Wholesale LLC., a North Branch, Mich., establishment is recalling approximately 360 pounds of ground beef product products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The products subject to recall include:
36 - 10 lb. Bags of “McNees Ground Beef Bulk.”

Each clear plastic bag bears establish number “EST. 33971” within the USDA mark of inspection. The products subject to recall were produced on July 15, and July 21, 2011, and sold to restaurants in Armada, Lapeer and North Branch, Mich. The products were also sold from a retail establishment owned by McNees Meats and Wholesale, LLC.

Being Canadian, I never got the whole sorority-fraternity thing except what I saw in Animal House, which I presumed was an accurate representation of American college life.

Amy’s always going on about the University of Michigan because she got her PhD from there but prefers the sunshine of Kansas to the climatic drudgery of Michigan.

Things were shaking at the U-M Delta Delta Delta house Saturday night as firefighters were called to help 37 women suffering from nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Maybe it was a sorority prank.

Washtenaw County Environmental Health supervisor Kristen Schweighoefer told the Detroit Free Press the sorority shared meals, so the students could have been exposed that way, adding,

“We don’t know which meal or what food item at this point.”

It’s too early to say for sure that norovirus was the cause without laboratory testing, she said.
 

Traverse City, Michigan, is sorta famous in food safety circles because a 1982 outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 was the first time the bug was identified as a cause of human disease, after 47 people in and Traverse City and White City, Oregon, developed severe stomach disorders after eating hamburgers at McDonald’s outlets.

Reporting on E. coli O157:H7 in the New York Times began on 8 October 1982 with prompt coverage of this first known outbreak. Researchers at the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the bacterium associated with the outbreaks was normally killed by cooking. The next day, federal epidemiologists characterized the disease as an intestinal ailment that had not proven fatal and was not a major public health hazard ; yet by Nov. 5, 1982 another 29 cases were reported.

In 1983, CDC issued a report on the Oregon and Michigan outbreaks and by 1984, the first report on the behavior of the organism and possible control measures appeared.

Today, the Grand Traverse County Health Department reported it had received reports of three probable cases of shigatoxin-producing E. coli in the past week.

All cases were in children and all three attended the Northwestern Michigan Fair in Grand Traverse County between August 9 and August 13.

The onset of symptoms, including bloody diarrhea, were between August 15 and August 17.

Dr. Michael Collins, Medical Director for the Grand Traverse County Health Department said,

"Considering the number of animals in close proximity to people at that venue, it seems likely that their infections were contracted there. Though we will probably never know exactly which animal or animals were involved as sources.”

The water supply at the Fairgrounds was tested prior to the event and will be re-tested for possible contamination. Area physicians were also notified and encouraged to obtain stool cultures for individuals with severe or bloody diarrhea.