Outbreak News
E. coli outbreak at nursing home puts seniors at severe risk
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOctober 17, 2003
An E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at a Portola Valley retirement center has sickened at least seventeen residents and seven staff members. Health officials are investigating the outbreak, and are focusing their investigation on food served at the facility and the food handling practices of foodservice workers employed there. Seven residents were hospitalized, one is in critical condition, and three have been released.
“This is certainly a tragedy,” said Denis Stearns, an attorney with Marler Clark, the Seattle law firm nationally known for its successful representation of E. coli victims. “And one hopes that there was no negligence involved. Preparing and serving food to a vulnerable, elderly population requires the greatest of care and the highest food safety standards.”
In 2002, Marler Clark represented the family of a woman who was a resident in a nursing home, and was served salmonella-contaminated cantaloupe. Her salmonella infection, and the resulting complications, were determined to be the cause of her death.
Victims of E. coli O157:H7 infections suffer from severe stomach cramping, nausea, and bloody diarrhea. E. coli infections are particularly hard on the young, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems. Although most people recover from their infections, about five-to-ten percent of infected individuals goes on to develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (“HUS”) or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (“TTP”), severe life-threatening complications. Both conditions lead to kidney failure, and are likely to involve some type of central nervous system or pancreas involvement.
Continue reading E. coli outbreak at nursing home puts seniors at severe risk on the Marler Clark website.
More on this outbreak: Sodexho (Sequoias Retirement Center) E. coli Outbreak
