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Source of
Article: http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/
Michigan is no stranger to
outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 . . . particularly over the course of the last
year. The CDC reports six culture-confirmed, PFGE matched cases in
the JBS
Swift outbreak and recall. Michigan also counted many of its
residents as victims in the E. coli outbreak linked to lettuce sold by Aunt
Mid's and Santa Barbara Farms last September/October. Among the Michigan victims
of the Aunt Mid's/Santa Barbara Farms lettuce outbreak is Lindsey Jennings, a
then 21-year-old pre-med student at the University of Michigan in Ann
Arbor. In fall 2008, Lindsey suffered an E. coli O157:H7 infection and
illness the likes of which we don't often see . . . at least not in somebody
so undeniably healthy and vibrant. Lindsey was hospitalized for 12 days with
a gastrointestinal illness so severe that she required replacement nutrition
(total parenteral nutrition) because her gastrointestinal tract was too
injured to process food or fluid. She did not eat solid food for over a
month, and actually had to continue to receive this nutrition through a tube
(peripherally inserted central catheter--PICC) even after she was discharged
from the hospital. Lindsey has continued to
recover from her illness in 2009, but she has chosen not to forget about the
experience of being so ill. Along with several other Marler Clark clients,
Lindsey recently spoke to members of Congress about food safety issues and
the need for more vigorous legislation and regulation of the food supply.
Afterward, in an interview with Elizabeth Rackover of The Oakland Press,
Lindsey stated, “It’s made me much more interested in the political side of
things.” “No one should have to go through what we’ve gone through. There are
approximately 5,000 people who die every year from foodborne illnesses and
almost all of it is preventable.” |
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