E. Coli 0157:h7

1. E. Coli 0157:h7

2. E.Coli 0157:H7 • It is one of the hundreds of strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli • This strain produces a powerful toxin and can cause severe illness • First recognized as a cause of an illness in 1982 • Most infections have come from the consumption of uncooked meat

3. E.Coli 0157:H7 • The combination of letters and numbers in the name of the bacterium represent the specific markers found on its surface. • An emerging cause of foodborne illness with an estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths in the United States alone each year!

4. E.Coli 0157:H7 • Mode of Transmission: Ingestion of contaminated food • Infection control: No special isolation precautions required • Incubation period: 3-8 days

5. How Is It Spread? • Found on a small number of cattle farms in the intestines of healthy cattle • Meat CAN be contaminated during slaughter and can be mixed in particularly with ground beef. • Bacteria is present on the cow’s udders or on equipment and therefore could possibly get into raw milk as well.

6. How Is It Spread? • Eating meat, particularly ground beef,that has not been sufficiently cooked can cause infection. • Other sources of consumption: sprouts, lettuce, salami, unpateurized milk and juice, and swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water.

7. How Is It Spread? • Bacteria in diarrheal stools of infected persons can be passed from one person to another. • KEEP HYGIENE HABITS! • Pay particular attention to toddlers who aren’t yet toilet trained. • Young children can shed organism in their feces for a week after illness resolves.

8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • CDC collects information about foodborne illness outbreaks from state and local health departments. • Claims that 250 million Americans suffer from food poisoning and over 5000 victims die every year! • Most of the outbreaks are caused by food handling errors • Managers should implement the most effective food sanitation possible • 70% outbreaks occur in foodservice operations

9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

10. What illness does 0157:H7 Cause? • Often causes severe bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps (Hemorrhagic colitis) • Usually little or not fever is present • Illness resolves in five to ten days • With children under 5 yrs. & elderly, it can cause a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome. • 2%-7% have this complication. • Principal cause of acute kidney failure in children.

11. Prevention • Cook all beef thoroughly, particularly ground beef • Beef can turn brown before disease-causing bacteria all killed • Use a digital instant-read thermometer

12. Prevention • In the kitchen, keep raw meat separate from ready-to-eat foods • Wash hands, counters, and utensils with soapy water after they touch raw meat. • Never place cooked hamburgers or ground beef on the unwashed plate that held raw patties. • Wash meat thermometers in between tests of patties that require further testing.

13. Prevention • Drink only pasteurized milk or juice. • Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly • Have municipal water treated with chlorine or other disinfectants • Avoid swallowing lake or pool water while swimming • Wash hands with soap after bowel movements or after changing soiled diapers.

14. Thawing Meat • Thaw foods in refrigerator units under water of 70 F or lower • Or in the microwave oven • Thaw ready-to-eat foods above raw • Large items should not be cooked from frozen state

15. Outbreaks • Scottish outbreak--linked to butcher shop; 116 people reported with symptoms; 4 people died • Odwalla fruit juices-- had to recall on carrots and vegetable juices; victims were children; apples were contaminated through feces of cattle grazing in nearby pasture • Georgia Water Park--10 children were affected and 1 died; link to child defecating in children’s wading pool • Japan Outbreak-- 9 people died in 4 week time span; bacteria infected over 9000 people; 5000 of which were school children