At least 106 sick, 2 hospitalized by E. coli outbreak linked to St. Louis caterer for school events, funerals
At least 106 cases of E. coli have been reported in St. Louis, Missouri, and more than half of the cases involve students, parents and guests of Rockwood Summit High School who attended events where food from Andre's Banquets and Catering was served, according the St. Louis County Executive's Office. At least two people have been hospitalized.
The outbreak is linked to five separate events hosted at or catered by the local company, the office said in a statement to CBS News. Two of those were attended by the Rockwood Summit High School community.
The current investigation of the outbreak suggests salad is the source of the illness, but officials have not identified the specific ingredient or the timing of the contamination, according to a news release from the state's public health department.
The outbreak is being investigated by officials at the department, who are conducting interviews and surveys with event attendees to gather information on what they consumed. Environmental inspectors from the state are also collecting samples to test for the bacteria, identified by the County Executive's Office as the Escherichia coli O157 strain.
There are hundreds of strains of E. coli, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. This particular strain is the most common and causes a severe intestinal infection in humans.
E. coli symptoms include nausea and stomach cramping, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can become serious and those who experience persistent, severe or bloody diarrhea should contact a doctor.
Two people in St. Louis have been admitted to the hospital for E. coli infection after developing hemolytic uremic syndrome, a rare but serious disease that affects the kidneys and blood clotting system, according to the Missouri's Department of Health.
It appears the cases began after a school band event on Nov. 6. Other events linked to the outbreak include a Nov. 7 band banquet, a veterans event on Nov. 8 and funerals on Nov. 8 and Nov. 9, all catered by Andre's, the office of the county executive said.
It's the latest E. coli outbreak reported in recent weeks. Organic carrots sold at Whole Foods were linked to 39 cases in 18 states. The FDA issued a recall of the 15-ounce containers of Whole Foods Market-branded organic carrot sticks and organic carrots and celery sticks sold at Whole Foods Market stores in five states: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho and Nevada, according to the announcement by California-based F&S Fresh Foods.
Earlier this week, 17 cases of E. coli in Minnesota were linked to ground beef products sold by Wolverine Packing Co., a meat-packing plant located in Detroit. The initial 11 cases were linked to burgers sold at Red Cow and Hen House Eatery, two restaurants in Minneapolis.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service said they were first notified of an E. coli-related illness on Nov. 14 and Wolverine Packing Co. has recalled 167,277 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli.
Several other food-related illness outbreaks have made headlines in recent months, including a deadly E. coli outbreak in 14 states that was linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders and a salmon recall at Costco last month over salmonella concerns.