Fresno Meat Market E. coli Outbreak - California
On May 29, 2007, the Fresno County Department of Community Health (FCDCH) announced in a press release that the agency was investigating an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak among several Fresno County, California, residents. By May 30, FCDCH had confirmed eight individuals as part of the outbreak, but were still seeking the source of contamination.
Further investigation into the E. coli outbreak revealed that all infected individuals had attended parties catered by the same food vendor in the week before becoming ill. FCDCH issued a press release on June 9, 2007, stating:
Results of samples sent last week to the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) for serotype testing have been confirmed at the Fresno County Department of Community Health (DCH). Eleven of the human samples are confirmed positive for E. coli O157:H7, the most virulent strain of the bacteria.
Since initial reports of illness were received by DCH on Saturday, May 26, 2007, the Fresno County Public Health Laboratory has conducted testing on human and environmental samples to isolate E. coli O157. As of today, 27 of these human samples have tested positive for E. coli O157. Of these 27, 11 have been identified as H:7 serotype matches through CDHS laboratory tests. Environmental sample results have so far been negative for E. coli O157. Some sample results are still pending. Laboratory testing continues on additional samples.
FCDCH urged consumers who had purchased cooked tri-tip from The Grill at the Meat Market on May 18 or 19 to discard the product, as it may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. In conjunction with the health department’s announcement, the Meat Market issued a recall of all cooked tri-tip sold during the two days in mid-May that were associated with the E. coli outbreak.
Marler Clark is pursuing claims on behalf of three victims of the Fresno Meat Market E. coli outbreak.