An E. coli outbreak at an Illinois high school sickened 16 students and hospitalized two, but the most likely source of infection was determined to be an infected food handler.
A 152-page report from the McHenry County Health Department said the most likely cause of the illness was poor hand-washing procedures. Infected food handlers were identified through laboratory testing of stool samples.
The outbreak at Huntley High School occurred in September of this year. The county health department released its final report this week. The school district superintendent spoke about the health department’s report.
“This was an unfortunate situation with unforeseen consequences. The health of our students and staff is our top priority. We will continue to work with MCDH to ensure safe food handling and hygiene in our cafeterias.” “We are doing everything possible to ensure health and safety, including increased controls and additional layers of proactive monitoring in all Huntley 158 school cafeterias,” the district said in a statement. states.
A total of 1,526 students or staff members at Huntley High School were interviewed by communicable disease staff or through an outbreak survey questionnaire. 16 cases were confirmed. Fifteen of the 16 patients ate in the cafeteria on the same day.
The county health department specifically concluded that a food handler at the high school was the source of the outbreak.
“The most likely route of STEC (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli) transmission in the HHS cafeteria was through an infected food handler. An HHS food handler who worked at both a cold sandwich station and a cookie station was confirmed by (laboratory testing) to intermittently emit STEC, Shiga toxin 2,” the health department report said. The book states, and further states that the outbreak was likely larger than recorded.
” Most infections go away on their own, so most people don’t seek medical attention or get tested. It has been documented that STEC can be shed for up to 62 days. Therefore, it is possible that the food handler had previously had a mild illness and did not associate that illness with the current outbreak investigation.As pathogen shedding decreases over time, culturing may no longer be possible. is not unexpected.”
The county investigation found that of the 15 outbreak patients who ate in the cafeteria, all 15 ate sandwiches from the cold sandwich station, and all patients for whom information about lettuce was available ate their sandwiches with lettuce. It has been found.
When the outbreak was declared, county officials notified the Illinois Department of Health, Food and Drug Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State and federal officials believed the school outbreak could be part of a larger outbreak in several states.
“The STEC outbreak at HHS was linked to outbreaks in multiple states by WGS (whole genome sequencing),” the county report said.
“However, this does not mean that the source of the until now unidentified multistate outbreak is the same as the outbreak at HHS. They likely share a common cause and an HHS student or employee contracted STEC after being exposed to the source of the multistate outbreak at an external location. Once introduced to HHS, STEC was infected through the HHS cafeteria.
The high school’s kitchen is in relatively good shape when it comes to food safety measures, according to a county report. A few violations were found, including a broken dishwasher, but those issues have been resolved.
“The HHS kitchen cafeteria is well organized, there is a designated person responsible for handling food, and there is a clear culture of handwashing among food handlers. Unfortunately, handwashing procedures and techniques sometimes fail. alone can cause disease transmission,” the county report states.
“During observations of food-handling procedures at HHS, two food handlers did not have access to a barrier to turn off the hand sink. This occurred even in a kitchen with trained staff where hand washing was encouraged. This confirms that skill degradation can occur primarily when staff are very busy and distracted by multiple tasks.
“In an outbreak of this disease, the most likely scenario is that an infected food handler did not wash his hands properly, sufficiently, or frequently enough, and the or that the food was contaminated.Items at the Cold Sub Sandwich Station and Cookie Station…If no further cooking steps were taken after contamination, the pathogen remained viable and caused illness after ingestion.STEC properly If not thoroughly disinfected, it can remain on surfaces for up to 16 months.”
About E. coli infection
Anyone who develops symptoms of an E. coli infection should seek medical attention and tell the doctor that they may have been exposed to the bacteria. Special tests are required to diagnose infections that resemble other diseases.
Symptoms of an E. coli infection vary from person to person, but often include severe abdominal pain and diarrhea, which is often bloody. Some patients may develop a fever. Most patients recover within 5-7 days. Some people can develop serious or life-threatening symptoms and complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Approximately 5 to 10 percent of people diagnosed with E. coli infections develop a potentially life-threatening kidney failure complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Symptoms of HUS include fever, abdominal pain, fatigue, decreased urination frequency, unexplained small bruising or bleeding, and facial pallor.
Most people with HUS recover within a few weeks, but some suffer permanent damage or death. Also, some of her HUS patients require organ transplants. This condition can occur in people of any age, but it is more common in children under 5 years of age because their immune systems are immature, elderly people with weakened immune systems, cancer patients and others with weakened immune systems. most common in people who have
Anyone experiencing symptoms of HUS should seek emergency medical care immediately. HUS patients can be hospitalized because it can cause other serious and ongoing problems, such as high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, brain damage, and neurological problems.
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