Outbreaks
Peninsula Village E. coli Outbreak
In June of 1999, 2 children living at Peninsula Village, a treatment center for children in Tennessee, were confirmed ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections. One young child developed hemolytic uremic syndrome and was hospitalized for sevral weeks. Other children and 3 staff members had all experienced diarrhea prior to the child's illness and hospitalization.The Tennessee Department of Health investigated the E. coli outbreak and learned that the only common activity the two confirmed E. coli patients had participated in was eating food prepared in the Peninsula Village kitchen that was served in the dining hall.
Food histories obtained from the two patients showed that both had consumed ground beef meals prepared and served at Peninsula Village on June 19 and June 22. TDOH concluded that the two Peninsula Village patients were infected by “a single common source of [E. coli] infection” and that a meal of ground beef prepared and served at Peninsula Village was the “best fit” as the likely source for E. coli.
