The town of Slayton in Southwest Minnesota isn’t much. A couple thousand people living around
the intersection of a couple of highways. Still, it’s experiencing an unusual share of food-borne illnesses.
In May 2007, a couple of restaurant workers at Slayton’s Pizza Ranch were said to be responsible for a Hepatitis A outbreak that required 1,200 people to get shots or vaccines. Now the town’s "Wonder World" day care center is dealing with an E. coli outbreak.
According to the Marshall, MN newspaper, The Independent, here’s what’s happening:
Since May 15, three children who attend Wonder World have been confirmed positive for a harmful strain of E. coli bacteria, a Minnesota Department of Health news release said. One child has been hospitalized with symptoms consistent with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe complication of the infection that affects the kidneys. About 13 other children have shown symptoms of illness and are being tested for E. coli, the release said.
The state health department said the bacteria seem to have spread from child to child, instead of coming from a source at the preschool. Farm animals might be involved. For more, go here.