Updated: E. coli Breaks Out in St. Louis County

The St. Louis County Department of Health is investigating an E. coli outbreak with 16 cases of the bacteria reported this week. 

Late Thursday afternoon, Health Department Spokesperson John Shelton confirms six people have been hospitalized and treated at Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur. He stated the source of the E. coli is food-borne and health officials are investigating to see if there is a link to local store salad bars.

Shelton said all of the affected people have not been interviewed and a source has not been positively identified. The cases are spread out from Florissant to South County, but Shelton did not give more specific information on where the cases were reported.

The health department has not asked any grocery stores to pull any food from shelves or salad bars, Shelton said. 

“E. coli is a very serious disease that can be life-threatening,” said Dr. Dolores J. Gunn, director of the health department, in the release. “Parents should be particularly vigilant if their children have bloody diarrhea."

spokeswoman Lori Willis tells Patch that when Schnucks got news of the outbreak from the health department, it began taking proactive precautionary steps until more information is available.

"Our food safety team go involved and they started asking questions. They started tracking back items that have a history that suggests they could be part of a recall," Willis said. 

She said some items have been pulled from the salad bar, including lettuce and strawberries, but points out this was done voluntarily and the store was not asked to remove the items.

"We were not asked to do this. This was a precaution taken by our food safety team. They're going to error on the side of safety."

Willis also reiterates, these food items have not been named as a source of the bacteria.

"I do not want to implicate products that don't have anything to do with this investigation," Willis said. "I can tell you very certainly that the health department assured us they do not have a source at this time, nor do they know the scope of the outbreak, whether it's local or larger than that."

Willis said at this point, Schnucks and others in the food service industry are working closely with the health department as it investigates to find a source.

"Until we get additional information, there is not much we can do. We expect to know much more in 24 hours," Willis said. "Certainly there will be some type of recall coming."

The release states that health officials are asking local physicians to watch for E. coli symptoms when evaluating any patient with bloody diarrhea, diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting, and cramps. Health officials warned that if E. coli is suspected, patients should go to the nearest emergency room for evaluation.

E. coli bacteria can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, pneumonia and other illnesses, according to the release. It also stated the bacteria can be spread through the consumption of contaminated food, the consumption of unpasteurized (raw) milk, the consumption of water that has not been disinfected, contact with cattle, or contact with the feces of infected people.

Health officials offered these three steps to reduce the risk of E. coli exposure:

• Wash your hands thoroughly after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before preparing or eating food.
• Cook meats thoroughly. Ground beef and meat that has been needle-tenderized should be cooked to a temperature of at least 160°F/70˚C.
• Prevent cross contamination in food preparation areas by thoroughly washing hands, counters, cutting boards, and utensils after they touch raw meat.

For more information about E. coli, visit the St. Louis County Department of Health website or the Centers for Disease Control website.