Public Health is investigating a cluster of three E. coli infections caused by Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (also called STEC) among young children in King County. Public Health received the first report of illness on 5/26/16, the second report on 6/1/16, and the third on 6/6/16. All the children are under 5 years of age and developed symptoms including diarrhea that became bloody and abdominal cramps. Two children have been hospitalized with complications including a type of kidney injury called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The third child was not hospitalized and is recovering at home.
Public Health recently investigated an outbreak of salmonellosis (caused by Salmonella bacteria) associated with a private event that occurred in late March. Three laboratory-confirmed and five probable cases of salmonellosis were reported and interviewed by Public Health; one person required hospitalization.
Several foods for the event, attended by roughly 200 people, were prepared in a private kitchen where cross-contamination, insufficient cooking, and inadequate refrigeration may have occurred and resulted in bacterial contamination of one or more food items served at the event. No single food item was identified as the definitive source of illness. Public Health Environmental Health staff helped provide educational information on safe food handling practices, as well as guidance on how to become a licensed caterer in the county.
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