Outbreaks
Herb Depot / Autumn Olives Farm Raw Goat's Milk E. coli Outbreak
In early May of 2008, the Lawrence County, Missouri, Health Department (LCHD) learned that a child had been hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) secondary to E. coli O157:H7 infection. The health care provider who reported the child’s illness reported that the child had consumed raw goat’s milk purchased at the Herb Depot in Barry County, Missouri, and LCHD began an investigation into the child’s illness.During the course of its investigation, LCHD learned that another Barry County child had tested positive for E. coli infection after consuming raw goat’s milk purchased from Herb Depot. The milk both children had consumed was purchased on April 29, 2008, and was produced at Autumn Olives Farm.
Epidemiologic and environmental investigations conducted by LCHD revealed two additional cases of E. coli infection linked to the consumption of raw goat’s milk produced at Autumn Olives Farm and sold by Herb Depot. All cases that cultured positive for E. coli O157:H7 during the outbreak shared a common, indistinguishable strain of E. coli O157:H7 that had never before been reported in Missouri. Each of the cases resided in different counties in Southwest Missouri, and shared a common exposure to Autumn Olives Farm.
