Last year, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) was petitioned to declare six additional disease-causing and potentially life-threatening strains of E. coli, those referred to as non-O157 Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STECs) or more succinctly, “the big six,” as adulterants. Specifically, those six strains include E. coli O26, O11, O103, O121
Confronting (and Detecting) the Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli (STEC) Problem
By now readers of this site are well versed in Marler Clark’s ongoing efforts to have non-O157 shiga toxin-producing strains of E. coli (STECs) declared “adulterants” by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). These currently unregulated strains are highly dangerous to humans—severely sickening tens of thousands of people per year and killing many others. Just
E. coli O145 and foodpoisoning lawsuits
The country became conscious of E. coli in 1993 after an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak struck West Coast Jack in the Box restaurants. 700 people were sickened; many people developed hemolytic uremic syndrome; and at least 4 kids died. In direct response to the outbreak, the USDA deemed E. coli O157:H7 an adulterant per se
The time is ripe to regulate non-O157 strains of STEC E. coli
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Currently, there are at least two outbreaks nationally that involve dangerous strains of E. coli that are not E. coli O157:H7. Michigan and Ohio are investigating at least 13 illnesses that occurred in mid-April, all of which are genetically indistinguishable strains of E. coli O145. (Incidentally, this was one of the strains involved in
Washtenaw County E. coli Cluster: is it an outbreak?
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The Washtenaw County Public Health is investigating 10 cases of a food-related illness possibly caused by E. coli, health officials said Monday.
"We are in the early stages of our investigation, and we are doing everything we can to identify probable cases and to prevent any additional illness," Dr. Diana Torres-Burgos, the county’s medical
Risk Posed by Non-O157 E. coli Greater Than Recognized
According to the results of a study recently published by the CDC, the incidence of dangerous and under-reported non-O157 E. coli infection is on the rise. E. coli is the term given to a large family of bacteria. Within that family, E. coli O157:H7 has been recognized as pathogenic to humans. As a result, E.