An E. coli Wedding from Hell
E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak Associated with A Wedding Reception in Raleigh, North Carolina
.jpg)
We just received the attached report (PDF link above and picture) from the State of North Carolina on truly a wedding from hell. My wife and I eloped. My strong suspicion is that this couple wishes they had as well, or at least skipped the reception. The report in part reads:
On October 22, The General Communicable Disease Control Branch (GCDC) was contacted by a guest and family member of the bride to report an outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7, associated with a catered wedding reception held in Raleigh on October 13, 2007. GCDC reported the call to Communicable Disease nurse staff at the Wake County Human Services Department (WCHS) and offered to assist with their investigation.
The wedding reception was held at the Exploris Museum in Raleigh and was catered by Triangle Catering. 110 wedding guests were invited to attend, and staff who worked the even were allowed to consume leftover food items.
27 people report a diarrheal illness with onset between October 13-24, 2007. Two people were hospitalized. One patient in New York reportedly has acute renal failure, and is considered an HUS case by the State of New York.
The State concluded that:
"It does seem more likely than not the outbreak occurred because of exposures to food items served at the wedding reception that were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. "
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated in 1999 that 73,000 cases of E. coli O157:H7 occur each year in the United States. Approximately 2,000 people are hospitalized, and 60 people die as a direct result of E. coli O157:H7 infections and complications. The majority of infections are thought to be foodborne-related, although E. coli O157:H7 accounts for less than 1% of all foodborne illness.
Fellow blogger and author, Phyllis Entis - "Food Safety: Old Habits, New Perspectives" and "Food Microbiology - The Laboratory" – posted, “Party Pooper - And No Way To Trace It” about this recent E. coli outbreak.
We just received the attached report (PDF link above and picture) from the State of North Carolina on truly a wedding from hell. My wife and I eloped. My strong suspicion is that this couple wishes they had as well, or at least skipped the reception. The report in part reads:On October 22, The General Communicable Disease Control Branch (GCDC) was contacted by a guest and family member of the bride to report an outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7, associated with a catered wedding reception held in Raleigh on October 13, 2007. GCDC reported the call to Communicable Disease nurse staff at the Wake County Human Services Department (WCHS) and offered to assist with their investigation.
The wedding reception was held at the Exploris Museum in Raleigh and was catered by Triangle Catering. 110 wedding guests were invited to attend, and staff who worked the even were allowed to consume leftover food items.
27 people report a diarrheal illness with onset between October 13-24, 2007. Two people were hospitalized. One patient in New York reportedly has acute renal failure, and is considered an HUS case by the State of New York. The State concluded that:
"It does seem more likely than not the outbreak occurred because of exposures to food items served at the wedding reception that were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. "
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated in 1999 that 73,000 cases of E. coli O157:H7 occur each year in the United States. Approximately 2,000 people are hospitalized, and 60 people die as a direct result of E. coli O157:H7 infections and complications. The majority of infections are thought to be foodborne-related, although E. coli O157:H7 accounts for less than 1% of all foodborne illness.
Fellow blogger and author, Phyllis Entis - "Food Safety: Old Habits, New Perspectives" and "Food Microbiology - The Laboratory" – posted, “Party Pooper - And No Way To Trace It” about this recent E. coli outbreak.
"The association between London Broil flank steaks and the outbreak was reported to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, and a compliance officer from that agency examined the invoices and other records the caterer had regarding those steaks. The invoice information indicated who the distributor for the product was, but there were no records available to identify the original producer for the meat. Therefore it is impossible to complete traceback for the item, or to identify unopened product that could be tested."
So, once more, the consumer was treated as the canary in the cage. Proper record keeping would have allowed investigators to identify the source of the meat and request a recall, if appropriate. Instead, all that North Carolina could do was post the "fingerprint" of the offending E. coli O157:H7 in the national data base and wait for a match. As of November 29th, the date of the final report, this appears to have been an isolated incident.
