Following a massive recall issued by Taylor Farms Retail Inc., the outbreak has reached a total of 39 states, nearly 80% of the country, including: Wyoming, Wisconsin, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, Nebraska, North Carolina, Montana, Mississippi, Minnesota, Missouri, Maryland, Louisiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Hawaii, Georgia, Florida, Delaware, Colorado, California, Arizona, Arkansas, Alabama, Alaska, Washington and Oregon. While the CDC only reports 33 cases over five states, 13 of those have resulted in hospitalizations. The affected products include five-ounce packages of Simple Truth Organic  Baby Spinach with UPC 0-11110-91128-5 and “Best By” date of 2/24/2013, as well  as 16-ounce trays of Taylor Farms Organic Baby Spinach with UPC 0-30223-04780-3  and “Best By” date of 2/24/2013.

If you or a loved one have experienced health issues related to ingesting one of these products, the attorneys at Strong, Garner, Bauer P.C. are here to help. Call our office at (417) 887-4300, or email info@stronglaw.com for your free consultation.

For more information, visit:

http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2012/O157H7-11-12/index.html

This week ABC News reported a voluntary recall by Taylor Farms for select Organic Baby  Spinach products with the potential to be contaminated with E. coli.

The recall was issued as “a precautionary measure” and affects two brands  sold in Arizona.  The affected products include five-ounce packages of Simple Truth Organic  Baby Spinach with UPC 0-11110-91128-5 and “Best By” date of 2/24/2013, as well  as 16-ounce trays of Taylor Farms Organic Baby Spinach with UPC 0-30223-04780-3  and “Best By” date of 2/24/2013.

It turns out that these same UPC codes have been linked to Sam’s Club stores in Missouri and have contaminated at least one woman.  The confirmed case involves an elderly woman who has now been hospitalized for over a month with E coli.

If you or your loved one have fallen ill to e coli contaminated foods, please call the experienced e coli lawyers of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300, or email us at info@stronglaw.com.

Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/national/baby-spinach-recall-taylor-farms-issues-recall-of-organic-baby-spinach-in-arizona#ixzz2KtFRT1I5

Missouri health officials have been notified of 12 confirmed cases of salmonella apparently traced to cantaloupes grown in southwestern Indiana.

Several states are coping with salmonella outbreaks linked to the Indiana melons.  The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported the confirmation by the CDC on Tuesday.

Missouri officials say at least three people reported eating cantaloupe before getting sick.  The CDC says the strain of salmonella in the Missouri cases matches the one found in the Indiana melons.

Read more: http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-12-cases-of-salmonella-linked-to-cantaloupes-confirmed-in-missouri-20120821,0,376519.story

Symptoms of salmonella infection include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.

If you have purchased cantaloupe, make sure to check that it was not grown in Southwestern Indiana before consuming.

If you believe you may have the symptoms of salmonella and have consumed cantaloupe, please contact the experienced Springfield, Missouri salmonella attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300 or email us at info@stronglaw.com.

Atlanta — The Centers for Disease Control is collaborating with public health officials in several states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections. Joint investigation efforts indicate that cantaloupe grown in southwestern Indiana is a likely source of this outbreak.  As a result of the initial investigations by the state health departments in Indiana and Kentucky, a farm in southwestern Indiana has contacted its distributors, which reach outside Indiana into other states, and is withdrawing its cantaloupe from the market place.The farm has agreed to cease distributing cantaloupes for the rest of the growing season.

Public health investigators are using DNA “fingerprints” of Salmonella bacteria obtained through diagnostic testing with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE, to identify cases of illness that may be part of this outbreak. They are using data from PulseNet, the national subtyping network made up of state and local public health laboratories and federal food regulatory laboratories that performs molecular surveillance of foodborne infections.

A total of 141 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 20 states.  The number of ill people identified in each state is as follows:  Alabama (7), Arkansas (3), California (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (17), Indiana (13), Iowa (7), Kentucky (50), Michigan (6), Minnesota (3), Missouri (9), Mississippi (2), New Jersey (1), North Carolina (3), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (1), and Wisconsin (2).

Among persons for whom information is available, illness onset dates range from July 7, 2012 to August 4, 2012. Ill persons range in age from less than 1 to 92 years, with a median age of 49 years old. Fifty-five percent of ill persons are female. Among 64 persons with available information, 31 (48%) patients reported being hospitalized. Two deaths have been reported in Kentucky.

Read More:

http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=689802

If you or someone you know has fallen ill with salmonella  from tainted cantalope, please contact the experienced Missouri injury attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

Missouri health officials say they have narrowed their investigation into E.coli in Missouri to 12 cases with similarities.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services previously reported 15 confirmed cases of E. coli, mostly in central Missouri.

A department spokeswoman says the investigation will now concentrate on 12 cases with similar lab results, geographic proximity and case history.

he Columbia Tribune reports eight people recently sickened by a strain of E. coli reported consuming raw milk from a farm in Armstrong. But samples of raw dairy materials taken from the Howard County farm all tested negative for the bacteria.

Columbia/Boone County health officials say one of four cases in the county, a 2-year-old child, remains hospitalized.

If you or a loved one have fallen ill with E coli, please contact the experienced Springfield E coli lawyers of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

Another person has been added to the list of people sickened by E coli bacteria, raising the number of victims to 14 in Missouri. Additionally, a seventh person has reported drinking raw milk before becoming ill.

The illnesses have been recorded since late March in Jackson, Boone, Camden, Clark, Cooper, Howard and Randolph counties.

Although seven people have now confirmed drinking raw milk, state officials have yet to identify the source of the outbreak.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/19/3564027/14th-person-sickened-by-e-coli.html#storylink=cpy

If you or a loved one have become ill with E coli, please contact the experienced Springfield, Missouri E coli attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that six of the thirteen confirmed cases of e coli are linked to consumption of raw milk from a farm in Howard county, Missouri. Other counties with reports of E coli cases are Camden, Clark, Cooper, Howard and Jackson. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is still investigating the E coli outbreak.

Symptoms of E coli include stomach discomfort, diarrhea and vomiting. Sometimes victims experience a slight fever. Health officials advise cooking meat thoroughly and washing hands before preparing food as precautions for preventing infection.

Read more: http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/apr/16/five-ecoli-cases-connected-one-farm/

If you have been diagnosed with E coli, please contact the experienced Springfield, Missouri E coli attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

An article by the Columbian Daily Tribune has reported that two more individuals have become ill with e coli in Central Missouri. The article reads as follows:

Raw dairy products are cited as a “possible risk factor” in two more cases of a strain of E. coli that has now sickened seven people in Central Missouri.

State health officials reported yesterday that the same strain of E. coli bacteria has been confirmed in infections in Boone, Howard, Cooper and Camden counties. Three of the cases, including a 2-year-old girl who is still hospitalized, are in Boone County.

Five of the E. coli victims are adults. The hospitalized 2-year-old, in addition to a 17-month-old in another county, developed symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a severe condition that can lead to permanent kidney damage.

Symptoms of E. coli infection include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. A fever is sometimes present but is not high. State health officials said most patients’ symptoms improve in five to seven days, but some patients go on to develop HUS, usually about a week after the diarrhea starts.

Gena Terlizzi, public information officer for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said consumption of raw dairy products has been identified as a “possible risk factor in some of these cases.” State and county health officials haven’t positively identified the source of the E. coli outbreak.

Terlizzi did not say whether other possible sources of contamination were being investigated.

Current Missouri law provides a limited exception to state milk inspection laws for farmers to sell raw milk or cream directly to consumers. Geni Alexander, public information officer for the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services, said a bill now under consideration in the Missouri Senate, SB 841, would expand the exception to allow a farmer to sell as much as 100 gallons of raw milk or cream per day at a farmers market.

The city/county health department advises consumers to avoid consumption of any raw dairy product. Alexander said raw milk producers are not subject to inspection by the local health department, which does not track or have a list of people who sell raw milk.

The only time local inspectors would encounter raw dairy products would be during an inspection of a retail food establishment, including farmers markets, mobile food markets and restaurants.

“If we find raw milk at a retail food establishment, we order it destroyed,” Alexander said.

Christine Tew, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Agriculture, said in jurisdictions where the sale of raw milk or cream is allowed, producers must first apply to the State Milk Board for a permit. The permit requires compliance with bottling, capping and labeling regulations. Tew said the only permitted facility in Missouri is located in Galena.

Read more: http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/apr/11/two-more-cases-of-e-coli-found-in-central-missouri/

If you or someone you know have become ill with e coli, please contact the experienced Springfield, Missouri e coli attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

Missouri state health officials have confirmed that five people from central Missouri, including two toddlers, have become contaminated with E coli since March. Although the exact cause of the contamination is yet to be known, health officials did say that three of the patients reportedly ingested raw dairy products. The health department says that the two year and seventeen month old remain hospitalized with life-threatening conditions affecting their kidneys. The other cases are from Cooper and Howard counties.

If you or someone you love has become ill from an e coli contaminated product, please contact the experienced Springfield, Missouri e coli lawyers of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.