Personal Injury Law

Girl Dies From E. coli O157:H7 in Cleveland - Likely Linked to Other E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois Linked to Hamburger Produced by Valley Meats

By Bill Marler, Esq.

The Cleveland Ohio Health Department said moments ago that a 6 or 7-year-old girl died from E. coli O157:H7 last weekend and that the death (likely due to Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome) appears linked to E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois that have led FSIS and CDC health investigators to ground beef produced by Valley Meats, LLC of Coal Valley, Illinois.

According to Misti Crane of THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH:

The Ohio Department of Health contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture with a report of three genetically linked cases of E. coli O157:H7 in the Cleveland area earlier this month.  All three were sickened in mid-April, but do not have any connection to one another, said ODH spokesman Kristopher Weiss.  They were classified as a cluster when the genetic fingerprints of the bacteria that had infected each person matched, he said. The illnesses were then linked to products containing meat from Valley Meats.  The people who were sickened were a 3-year-old girl, a 24-year-old man and a 71-year-old man. Two of the three were hospitalized and all have since recovered, Weiss said.

Leila Atassi and Harlan Spector of the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER are also covering the story:

Health officials did not identify the girl or provide details of the circumstances that led to her death. But Cleveland Health Director Matthew Carroll said the case might be the latest in a cluster of E. coli infections traced to Valley Meats LLC, of Coal Valley, Ill.

The company pulled nearly 100,000 pounds of hamburger patties after a U.S. Department of Agriculture investigation confirmed that three Cleveland-area residents were infected by eating the same tainted ground beef. Carroll said two local restaurants, one of them in Cuyahoga County, might also be involved and will be investigated.

The three who grew ill - a 3-year-old girl, a 24-year-old man and a 71-year-old man - have recovered, said Kristopher Weiss, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health. Health officials determined the cases originated from a common source when they found matches among the genetic fingerprints of the bacteria that infected each person, Weiss said. The state reported its findings to the USDA on May 13. The brands included in the recall are 3-S, Grillmaster, J and B, Klub, Thick 'n Savory, Ultimate, and more than a dozen generic brands.

A few weeks ago I wrote "E. coli O157:H7 Season is Nearly Upon Us - Will it be 2005 and 2006 or 2007 and 2008?"

From 1993 - 2003 we represented over 1,000 people sickened and families who suffered losses due to E. coli O157:H7-tainted hamburger.  From 2003 - spring of 2007, the number of ill and the number of recalls dropped significantly.  In fact, in 2006, less that 200,000 pounds of E. coli-tainted hamburger was recalled.  However, since the Spring of 2007 nearly 42,000,000 pounds of hamburger has been recalled.  Clearly, there is a problem.  Earlier this year I wrote "Open Letter to a New Under Secretary for Food Safety - FSIS - The End of E. coli Conservatism," in part to start a discussion about why we are again seeing E. coli illnesses and deaths and in part to encourage the new administration to act.  The new administration is taking new steps, but much more needs to be done.

Full post as published by Marler Blog on May 21, 2009 (boomark / email).