Another Death Linked to E. Coli Outbreak
Oct. 6, 2006 — -- A toddler from Idaho appears to be the latest victim of the national outbreak of E. coli bacteria.
State health officials say 2-year-old Kyle Allgood of Chubbuck, Idaho, was infected with E. coli O157:H7, the same strain of the bacteria associated with contaminated spinach from California.
The Idaho youngster died of kidney failure at a Salt Lake City hospital on Sept. 20.
The child developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a kidney disease often associated with E. coli infections.
"We are very sorry for Kyle and his family," said Christine Hahn, the Idaho state epidemiologist. "This type of E. coli can be very dangerous for everyone, but especially young children and the elderly."
Last month, the death of a 77-year-old woman from Wisconsin was the first fatality linked to the contaminated spinach.
So far, 192 people from 26 states have been infected with the particularly virulent strain of the bacteria, and about half of them needed to be hospitalized.
There has been a long history of E. coli 0157:H7 outbreaks involving leafy green vegetables from central California, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The current contamination has been traced back to Natural Selection Foods LLC of San Juan Bautista, Calif.
Natural Selection and four other companies that received potentially contaminated spinach from that company recalledpackaged leaf spinach with a date code of Oct. 1 or earlier.
E. coli lives in the intestines of animals, commonly in cattle.
Fecal materialfrom livestock is most often linked to contamination.
Investigators are checking all aspects of production and distribution, especially irrigation and fertilization.
Earlier this week, FBI agents and the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations executed two search warrants on Natural Selection Foods and Growers Express ofSalinas, California.
"[The] FDA continues to work with the U.S. Attorney's Office andthe FBI to determine the facts behind this outbreak," said Robert Brackett, directorof the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
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