New E.coli outbreak affecting children but source yet unknown
May 07 , 2021
At least seven children are sick with E. Coli infections in a new outbreak involving an unknown source, according to an outbreak announcement by Washington State health officials.
All of the sick children are younger than 14, with three of them younger than five years old.
“Our investigation is ongoing, and we have not identified any foods, restaurants, or other sources in common among all cases. It is not yet known whether these cases share the same source or not,” officials reported in the announcement.
The children became ill between April 22 and May 1. Six of the seven children have been so sick they had to be admitted to hospitals. One of the sick children is confirmed as having developed a life-threatening kidney complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and is recovering. A second child is suspected to have HUS.
Seven Children Sick in E. coli Outbreak in King County, Washington State
According to a notice posted by the King County Public Health Department, there are seven children sick in an E. coli outbreak in King County. All are under the age of 14, and three children are under the age of five. Six of the children have been hospitalized. The source of the pathogen has not yet been determined.
This new E. coli outbreak in King County has illness onset dates ranging from April 17, 2021 to April 29, 2021. The cases were reported to government officials between April 22, 2021 and May 1, 2021. The investigation is ongoing. Officials have not identified any restaurants, foods, or other sources in common among all of these cases. In fact, investigators do not know if the patients even share the same source of the pathogen.
Cluster of 7 children in King County infected with toxin-producing E. coli May 5, 2021 at 3:08 pm
A lab technician holds a bacteria culture that shows a positive infection of enterohemorrhagic E. coli, also known as the EHEC bacteria, from a patient at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf on June 2, 2011 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
The children, all under 14, were infected with Shinga toxin-producing E. coli., also known as STEC. The cases were reported between April 22 and May 1.
Three of the children are under five.
All the children developed symptoms consistent with STEC including diarrhea, abdominal cramping, nausea and vomiting. Six of the children were hospitalized, and one developed a kidney complication.
Health officials: E. coli outbreak in King County has spread to Snohomish County Deedee Sun, KIRO 7 News Staff
Snohomish County health workers said Tuesday an E. coli outbreak in King County has now spread to the North Sound.
Last week, Public Health Seattle & King County is investigating a cluster of toxic E. coli cases that left seven children infected during a two-week period. Six of them had to be hospitalized.
The children, all under 14, were infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli., also known as STEC. The cases were reported between April 22 and May 1. Three of the children are under 5 years old.
Are new coronavirus variants already in Washington? With limited surveillance it’s hard to know By Sandi Doughton, The Seattle Times
Published: January 15, 2021, 8:16am
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As mutated versions of the novel coronavirus pop up across the U.S. including at least one that is more contagious researchers in Washington say surveillance in the state is falling short of what’s needed to quickly spot new variants.
While Washington is doing better than many other states, only about 1.7% of viral genomes has been sequenced since the start of the pandemic. In December when the new variants began to explode across the U.K. and other countries more than 70,000 people in Washington tested positive, and fewer than half a percent of those cases have been sequenced so far.