SoyNut E. coli outbreak in California and Arizona – Four Victims Each
At least four victims have been identified by the California Department of Public Health, and four victims in Arizona by the Arizona Department of Heath Services. Both states have identified victims between January 6, 2017 and February 15, 2017. Due to the lag-time from illness to testing, identification to reporting, and being serotyped, there may be many more victims whose cases will not be announced officially for several more weeks. In addition, health officials have noted that, unlike the distribution of a perishable product , such as the Salmonella tainted cucumbers that were recalled after many hundreds were made ill, there is no definite end to this outbreak because the product can stay on individuals shelves for months, elongating the time period in which individuals could become infected.
I. M. Healthy E. coli Linked to Two Oregon Illnesses, and One in each of New Jersey and Maryland
This outbreak is national in scope, as evinced from the fact that, though the majority of the cases are in the West, there are cases in the Northwest an on the Eastern Seaboard. The linkage was made possible by PulseNet, the national registry of food borne pathogens that enable health experts to link cases separated by hundreds of miles. I. M . Healthy is widely distributed, and as such, victims in other states may yet be identified as those state laboratories continue to process samples sent to them by county or perish health agencies. The outbreak, first made public on March 2nd, remains in its initial phase of identification. So far, at least five of the victims have identified I.M. Healthy as the product they ate, with some having consumed it at a daycare center.
Investigation into I. M. Healthy Will Turn Toward Finding Cause
Now that an effective recall is in place, and identification of victims ongoing, investigators will begin looking into the practices at I. M. Healthy to see where the E. coli was introduced into the product. Good food handling and manufacturing procedures clearly collapsed when they allowed feces, the usual method of transmission of E. coli, to enter the product. In addition to site inspections, health investigators will also look at I. M. Healthy suppliers.
For more information about the I. M. Healthy E. coli outbreak, or to speak to an E. coli lawyer, call 1-888-335-4901.
