I can hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth over such an un-American suggestion.

Yet again the CDC is reporting on yet another “multiagency task force is being created in North Carolina to evaluate the preventive measures that were in place during the 2011 state fair and to identify additional interventions that could be applied to prevent disease transmission in livestock exhibitions where physical contact with the public might occur.” Hmm, didn’t that happen after the 2004 North Carolina State Fair E. coli Outbreak that resulted in 187 illnesses, 15 of which were complicated by HUS?

Now the CDC is reporting about another E. coli outbreak – this time at the 2011 North Carolina State Fair, held October 13–23 in Raleigh. According to the CDC, twenty-five cases were identified with case-patients’ illness onsets during October 16–25; median age was 26 years (range: 1–77 years). Eight case-patients (32%) were hospitalized; four (16%) experienced HUS.

Once again the only exposure associated with illness was having visited one of the permanent structures in which sheep, goats, and pigs were housed for livestock competitions.

For more information on past outbreaks and preventative measures, see www.fair-safety.com.