The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) is investigating an outbreak of seven confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 and two cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).
Patients sickened in this outbreak range in age from 2 to 25. The State Health Department has confirmed at this point that six of the seven patients recently visited the Oak Leaf Dairy Farm, a goat farm in Lebanon, Connecticut. As a precaution, Oak Leaf Farm is currently not permitting the public to visit the animals.
“Earlier today, DPH was informed of several patients from Southeastern Connecticut who have become ill with E. coli,” said DPH Commissioner Raul Pino in a prepared statement. “We are closely monitoring the situation and working with our partners at the CDC and other relevant stakeholders. We will continue to work diligently to provide the public with the information it needs as we investigate.”
“We strongly encourage anyone who visited the farm in March and developed symptoms of this illness to contact their physician,” added Dr. Pino in the statement.
DPH is currently coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Uncas Health District and the state Department of Agriculture to determine how the patients became ill.