Analysis of Ecoli Outbreak - Essay Example

The American States were affected on September 14, 2006, by the outbreak of a multistate infection that is spread by Escherichia coli found in fresh spinach. The strain that causes this infection is Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157: H7. 205 people were infected distributed in 20 states in the United States. The infection that spread across the states lasted till October where the people succumbed. The pathogen belongs to the Enterobacteriaceae family that causes gastrointestinal illness spread through ingestion of contaminated food.

The main symptoms of the infection are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, occasional vomiting, Low-grade fever, and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) that cause kidney, brain & colon damage. The micro-organisms attach to the epithelial lining of the cells. The majority of the infected were a woman at 71% with 22% of the remaining percentage being children below the age of 5 years. The investigative team comprised of experts from the Centers for disease control & prevention, the US Food & Drug Administration, and also California’s Department of Health Services (CDHS).

The experts collected the spinach, conducted interviews with the affected, and where fingerprints of the pathogen were found in 13 samples investigated. The source of infection was traced to infected irrigation water where the surface water was exposed to feces droppings from cattle & wildlife.