United States: In St. Louis, Missouri, at least 106 people have gotten sick from a bacteria called E. coli. Most of the people waho got sick went to events at Rockwood Summit High School where they ate food from a place called Andre’s Banquets and Catering. More than half of the sick people are students, parents, and guests from the school. Two people have been hospitalized because of the illness.
The office said in a statement to CBS News that the outbreak was linked to five separate events hosted at or catered by the local company. One of those two were attended by the Rockwood Summit High School community.
As reported by the CBS News, salad is the suspected source of the illness in the current investigation of the outbreak, but authorities have not determined the specific ingredient along with the timing of the contamination, according to a news release from the state’s public health department.
Officials at the department have begun interviews and surveys among event attendees in efforts to learn what they consumed and develop further details on the outbreak. Samples are also being taken by environmental inspectors from the state to test for the bacteria — the Escherichia coli O157 strain — identified by the County Executive’s Office.
However, Johns Hopkins Medicine says there are hundreds of strains of E. coli. This is actually the most common strain which causes a severe intestinal infection of humans.
The Mayo Clinic says nausea, stomach cramping, vomiting and diarrhea are common E. coli symptoms. However, the diarrhea also affects a lot of people, if it is persistent, severe or bloody, they should contact a doctor.
Two patients in St. Louis have been admitted to the hospital with E. coli infection, and both also have hemolytic uremic syndrome, a rare but serious disease of the kidneys and blood clotting system, according to Missouri’s Department of Health.
The cases appear to have started Nov. 6, at a school band event. The caterer, Andre’s, also catered other events linked to the outbreak, including a Nov. 7 band banquet, an event Nov. 8 honoring veterans, and funerals Nov. 8 and Nov 9, the office of the county executive said.