Health
Officials Warn of E. Coli Outbreak in Butte County
Karli Bulnes
9/17/2008
Source of Article: http://www.khsltv.com/content/topstories/story.aspx?content_id=cfda1754-57df-4a17-a5c4-f9352952112f
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Three cases are confirmed and a fourth is likely. But aside from symptoms, those who have gotten sick so far have something
else in common. "They're all Forest Ranch residents and we believe they got the
infection from a fundraiser that occurred on the 6th of September for the
volunteer fire department," said Butte County Public Health Officer Dr.
Mark Lundberg. Between 300 and 400 people attended the fundraiser and were possibly
exposed to the bacteria. Health officials want to get the word out to all county residents, but
especially those who work with patients, food and children since they have a
higher risk of passing it on. Those who are experiencing symptoms and work in those areas should stop
work immediately and contact the health department. "What we don't want to have happen is to have more cases and for this
outbreak to get larger," Lundberg said. Symptoms include abdominal cramps, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea and mild
fever. Kidney failure is possible in severe cases. If you attended the fundraiser and have these symptoms you should seek
care. This type of E. Coli is commonly linked to undercooked contaminated
meat, but health officials are still trying to pinpoint the source of this
outbreak. "Right now, the investigation we're doing is to try to determine what
they ate at the event and what was the culprit, what was the cause, what was
the source," Lundberg said. Of the three confirmed cases in If you have questions contact the Butte County Public Health Department. |
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