I and my E. coli litigation team are investigating an E. coli O145 outbreak that has sickened people in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee. Tragically, one young E. coli victim developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and passed away.
The outbreak was caused by contaminated food, but a specific food product has not been pinpointed, although some sources suggest that it may be lettuce. In these kinds of cases, E. coli O145 victims and their families hire me to represent them during the investigation.
To date, there are 14 confirmed cases of infection from genetically identical E. coli O145 bacteria (read about PFGE):
- Alabama (2)
- California (1)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (5 – all in the Atlanta area)
- Louisiana (4 – all in the New Orleans area)
- Tennessee (1)
The investigation is ongoing, and I expect more confirmed cases in the near future.
E. coli O145 Transmission
E. coli O145 bacteria are very small, about 0.5 microns wide and 2 microns long. A micron is one one-thousandth of a millimeter, and there are about 25.4 millimeters in an inch. It only takes a few E. coli O145 cells to to make someone ill.
E. coli O145 must be ingested to cause infection because it does its damage after it colonizes in a person’s intestines, where it can cause colitis or develop into HUS, the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the United States.
In all cases of E. coli food poisoning, the source of the pathogen is feces, usually cow manure. If feces containing E. coli contaminates food and is then consumed, that person will get sick. The degree of illness depends on a number of factors, including age and health.
E. coli and HUS illnesses have been linked to ground beef, mechanically-tenderized steak, raw milk, apple cider, salami, spinach, lettuce, sprouts, raw cookie dough, pepperoni pizza and other foods. The incubation period for E. coli is usually 3 days, but can be as long as 10 days. This is why the last thing an E. coli victim ate before getting sick was probably not the cause of the illness.
Fred Pritzker is lead attorney for our E. coli O145 and HUS cases. He and his team of E. coli lawyers have won millions for their clients. Contact Fred for a free consultation.