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Source of
Article: http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/
Web updates on
outbreaks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are like
those old “paint by numbers” sets. Sometimes it takes several
passes, but eventually the picture is filled out pretty well. In its fifth and final update
on the multi-state outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 infections linked to eating
raw refrigerated pre-packaged cookie dough CDC all but wraps a bow around
Nestle Toll House products. “In an epidemiologic study,
ill persons answered questions about foods consumed during the days before
becoming ill and investigators compared their responses to those of persons
of similar age and gender previously reported to State Health Departments
with other illnesses,” the CDC update says. “Preliminary results of this
investigation indicate a strong association with eating raw prepackaged
cookie dough. Most patients reported eating refrigerated prepackaged Nestle
Toll House cookie dough products raw.“On June 29, 2009, the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a culture of a sample of prepackaged
Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough currently under recall yielded E.
coli O157:H7,” CDC continues. “The contaminated sample was
collected at the firm on June 25, 2009. Further laboratory testing showed
that the strain in the sample was not the outbreak strain. E. coli
O157:H7 has not been previously associated with eating raw cookie dough…” As of ten days ago, health
departments in 31 states working with CDC and FDA, has counted 80 confirmed
cases of E. coli 0157:H7 with the particular DNA match associated with the
Nestle outbreak. Most persons became ill
during May and June. Ill persons range in age from 2 to 65 years; however, 66
percent are less than 19 years old; 69 percent are female. Thirty-five
persons have been hospitalized, ten developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
Multiple lawsuits have
already been filed against Nestle. Marler Clark, which represents
victims of food-borne illnesses throughout the United States , represents 24
sickened by E. coli 0157:H7 including six with HUS with all the illnesses
linked to the Nestle outbreak. The Seattle-based firm has filed with
courts in Colorado, California and Washington State. |
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