E. coli at camp; 13 Scouts sickened
My youngest daughter – although 13 seems fairly grown up -- just came back from camp, and is going to be joining Amy and me in Kansas in a week.
She went to camp for the first time when she was 7. At the time I wrote,
Looks like I picked the wrong week to send my kids to camp. From sea to diarrheal sea, North Americans have been stricken by illnesses most likely transmitted in food. Two years ago, Canada was just beginning to have some myths shattered about Canadian clean water as reports trickled out regarding an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in Walkerton, Ont. In the end, 2,300 were sickened and seven killed, all in a town of 5,000.
Now, 29 attendees at a cheerleading camp in Washington State have been stricken with the same bug, including a teenager whose kidneys were so damaged that she is on dialysis. Sleuthing by health investigators sparked a U.S.-wide recall of a brand of Romaine lettuce on Monday, which was clearly implicated in the outbreak.
This morning, I could only sigh and be thankful my youngest returned without diarrheal incident.
Health officials have confirmed that at least 13 boys, all but one from Northern Virginia, contracted E. coli bacterial infections while attending a popular Scout camp in Goshen, Va. …
Since the outbreak, Scout officials have taken steps to reduce the risk of further contamination by temporarily removing ground beef -- a common source of E. coli -- from camp menus; distributing hand sanitizers; and encouraging hand-washing and proper hygiene.
At some point people may realize E. coli O157:H7 is present in the environment and could be in lots of foods and water – not just ground beef.
She went to camp for the first time when she was 7. At the time I wrote, Looks like I picked the wrong week to send my kids to camp. From sea to diarrheal sea, North Americans have been stricken by illnesses most likely transmitted in food. Two years ago, Canada was just beginning to have some myths shattered about Canadian clean water as reports trickled out regarding an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in Walkerton, Ont. In the end, 2,300 were sickened and seven killed, all in a town of 5,000.
Now, 29 attendees at a cheerleading camp in Washington State have been stricken with the same bug, including a teenager whose kidneys were so damaged that she is on dialysis. Sleuthing by health investigators sparked a U.S.-wide recall of a brand of Romaine lettuce on Monday, which was clearly implicated in the outbreak.
This morning, I could only sigh and be thankful my youngest returned without diarrheal incident.
Health officials have confirmed that at least 13 boys, all but one from Northern Virginia, contracted E. coli bacterial infections while attending a popular Scout camp in Goshen, Va. …
Since the outbreak, Scout officials have taken steps to reduce the risk of further contamination by temporarily removing ground beef -- a common source of E. coli -- from camp menus; distributing hand sanitizers; and encouraging hand-washing and proper hygiene.
At some point people may realize E. coli O157:H7 is present in the environment and could be in lots of foods and water – not just ground beef.
Raw milk sickens infant; lawsuit filed
It’s always the kids.
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As a father with four daughters and a fifth on the way, I relate to the let’s not make kids sick aspect of raw milk.
Proponents of raw milk say that is just so much statistical shit, and that hardly anyone gets sick from raw milk.
Except it is entirely preventable, and well-meaning people get sucked in by nutritional gobbledygook.
Like Angela Pedersen, who says her almost one-year-old Larry contracted E. coli O157:H7 from raw milk she bought at the Herb Depot and Organic Market in Monett, Miss.
"It was a living hell. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone. I don't know how many days I would look at my son and I didn't know if he was going to take another breath.”
The family's now suing that business. Pedersen says back in April she went to the store to buy almond milk. She says she was then told about the benefits of raw milk.
"We were approached and told that the goat's milk would be a better alternative. It's healthier than breast milk and it would be wonderful for him. We agreed to try it," says Pedersen.
As a father with four daughters and a fifth on the way, I relate to the let’s not make kids sick aspect of raw milk.Proponents of raw milk say that is just so much statistical shit, and that hardly anyone gets sick from raw milk.
Except it is entirely preventable, and well-meaning people get sucked in by nutritional gobbledygook.
Like Angela Pedersen, who says her almost one-year-old Larry contracted E. coli O157:H7 from raw milk she bought at the Herb Depot and Organic Market in Monett, Miss.
"It was a living hell. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone. I don't know how many days I would look at my son and I didn't know if he was going to take another breath.”
The family's now suing that business. Pedersen says back in April she went to the store to buy almond milk. She says she was then told about the benefits of raw milk.
"We were approached and told that the goat's milk would be a better alternative. It's healthier than breast milk and it would be wonderful for him. We agreed to try it," says Pedersen.
Buffalo meat can carry dangerous E. coli, just like grass-fed beef
Andrew Stormer (right, pretty much as shown) tells me his parents went to the farmers’ market yesterday and bought some buffalo meat.
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Stormer, a student who works with me but is spending the summer as an intern in the 38C (100F) heat of Salina, Kansas, says,
“The person selling the meat said that their buffalos were not fed grain and therefore, E. coli was not a concern in buffalo meat. The person also said that because E. coli did not appear in the meat that it didn't matter if people undercooked it.”
A quick look on the Internet found that many purveyors of buffalo meat shared similar views; that somehow is doesn’t need to be sufficiently cooked to control dangerous bugs.
This sounds like a variation on a similar fantasy that shiga-toxin or verotoxin-producing E. coli like E. coli O157:H7 don’t occur in grass fed cattle. They do. And lots of other places.
Hazarika and colleagues at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Public Health &, Hygiene, CVSc, AAU, in India reported in the Journal of Food Safety in 2005 that,
“The emergence of Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) as zoonotic foodborne pathogens in recent years has become a public health concern because of its life threatening human diseases. In the present investigation, out of 87 strains of E. coli, 22 (25%) belonging to 13 different serotypes isolated from raw buffalo meat and its products were found to be verotoxic as tested by Vero cell cytotoxic assay. Serotype 026 followed by O153 and 0157 were the predominant VTEC. … VTEC in cooked buffalo meat products, namely shami kabab and kabab, appears to be a matter of concern and a potential threat to public health.”
That means handle ground buffalo like ground beef, and cook to 160F.
Stormer, a student who works with me but is spending the summer as an intern in the 38C (100F) heat of Salina, Kansas, says,“The person selling the meat said that their buffalos were not fed grain and therefore, E. coli was not a concern in buffalo meat. The person also said that because E. coli did not appear in the meat that it didn't matter if people undercooked it.”
A quick look on the Internet found that many purveyors of buffalo meat shared similar views; that somehow is doesn’t need to be sufficiently cooked to control dangerous bugs.
This sounds like a variation on a similar fantasy that shiga-toxin or verotoxin-producing E. coli like E. coli O157:H7 don’t occur in grass fed cattle. They do. And lots of other places.
Hazarika and colleagues at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Public Health &, Hygiene, CVSc, AAU, in India reported in the Journal of Food Safety in 2005 that,
“The emergence of Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) as zoonotic foodborne pathogens in recent years has become a public health concern because of its life threatening human diseases. In the present investigation, out of 87 strains of E. coli, 22 (25%) belonging to 13 different serotypes isolated from raw buffalo meat and its products were found to be verotoxic as tested by Vero cell cytotoxic assay. Serotype 026 followed by O153 and 0157 were the predominant VTEC. … VTEC in cooked buffalo meat products, namely shami kabab and kabab, appears to be a matter of concern and a potential threat to public health.”
That means handle ground buffalo like ground beef, and cook to 160F.
