Most current information:

The Ohio Department of Health said that cases had been reported in Wood, Lucas, Mahoning, Clermont, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Lorain and Summit counties. Four people in Ohio have been hospitalized in connection with the outbreak, the department said.  Thus far Wood county has reported 20 illnesses.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and three local health departments – Kent, Ottawa and Oakland – are investigating a recent increase in the number of illnesses related to E. coli bacteria.  Thus far MDHHA has reported 98 illnesses.

The CDC posted this today:

“A food has not yet been identified as the source of this fast-moving outbreak. So far, illnesses have only been reported from Michigan and Ohio.“

The CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states (in addition to Ohio and Michigan?), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) – I do not recall a CDC post recently that included working with both the FSIS (regulates, Beef, Pork, Poultry and Catfish) and the FDA (regulates everything else).

Here are some details:

29 Illnesses- 14 in Ohio (Wood County Health Department reports 20) and 15 in Michigan (Michigan Department of Health reports 98).

Illnesses onset dates: July 26, 2022, to August 6, 2022.

Age: 6 to 91 years, median age of 21 years, and 38% are female (hmm, what do 62% of men eat?).

17 people with information available, 9 have been hospitalized.

A food has not yet been identified as the source and this investigation is ongoing. So, meat, leafy greens or something else? As you will see from the below, the genetics are tight – this clearly is is a one bug outbreak from one source.

Present Outbreak – Ill people range in age from 6 to 91 years, with a median age of 21 years, and 38% are female.

Produce: 862 cases, ~67% female

Packaged salads, 2021, 10 cases, 100% female

Baby spinach, 2021, 15 cases, 80% female

Leafy greens, 2020, 40 cases, 60% female

Chopped salad kits, 2019, 10 cases, 60% female

Romaine, 2019, 167 cases, 64% female

Romaine, 2018, 62 cases, 66% female

Romaine, 2018, 210 cases, 67% female

Leafy greens, 2017, 25 cases, 67% female

RTE Salads, 2013, 33 cases, 60% female

Spinach and spring mix, 2012, 33 cases, 63% female

Romaine, 2011, 58 cases, 59% female

Spinach, 2006, 199 cases, 71% female

Beef/Meat: 442 cases, ~49% female

Bison, 2019, 33 cases, 52% female

Ground beef, 2019, 209 cases, 51% female

Ground beef, 2018, 18 cases, 33% female

Beef products, 2016, 11 cases, 45% female

Ground beef, 2014, 12 cases, 42% female

Beef, 2010, 21 cases, 43% female

Beef, 2009, 26 cases, 50% female

Beef, 2009, 23 cases, 36% female

Ground beef, 2008, 49 cases, 57% female

Ground beef, 2007, 40 cases, 45% female

Looking at the NCBI database, these are the most likely WGS fingerprints (in red) are in this subcluster

30 Isolates Selected

Distance between selected isolates: minimum = 0 SNPs, maximum = 2 SNPs, average = 0 SNPs

Target creation date range: 2022-08-09 to 2022-08-15 

Well, more tomorrow.