Source of Article:http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/05/mass_scrutinizes_6_cases_of_e_coli/
Federal and state health officials are
investigating the cases of six people in Massachusetts
who were sickened by a virulent strain of E. coli that appears linked to those
found in several other states, officials said yesterday.
At least five of the Massachusetts victims were hospitalized.
Their ages range between 3 and 60, and they include residents of Middlesex, Suffolk, and Essex
counties, according to the state Department of Public Health.
The six Massachusetts victims reportedly were ill
between July 10 and July 16. All were sickened by a virulent bacteria strain,
E. coli O157:H7, that is harbored mainly in the intestines of
cattle, said Dr. BelaMatyas,
medical director of the epidemiology program for the state health department.
The E. coli strain can get into meat
through improper butchering and processing. It produces a particular type of
toxin that causes severe bleeding and diarrhea - and has been associated with
kidney damage in young children, kidney failure, and fatalities.
A source of the Massachusetts contamination has not been
identified, but state and US Department of Agriculture investigators are
focusing on ground beef, Matyas said.
Testing of samples collected from
several stores will be conducted this week, the public health department said
in a statement.
"Massachusetts cases were linked by DNA
testing and by comparing those results to results from others around the
country through a federal food-borne illness surveillance program called PulseNet," according to the statement.
Nebraska Beef Ltd. of Omaha has recalled 5.3 million pounds of
ground beef linked to E. coli illnesses across the nation.
The federal Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention has confirmed 49 cases in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan,
New York, Ohio, and Utah.
Symptoms of E. coli infection include
stomach cramps and watery diarrhea that may turn bloody within one to three
days.
