Outbreak Rare, But Not Unheard Of

The kind of E. coli that's sickened more than 200 people in Green Country is very rare.  But, there have been other outbreaks in the United States and around the world.  The News On 6's Ashli Sims reports the microscopic bacterium can affect its victim's health for years to come. 

It's pretty rare, but it's popped up before in one of our neighboring states.  Cheerleaders in Texas have been affected.  Students in Finland have become ill.  And, sausage lovers in Australia have been sickened by E. coli.

A rare strain of E. coli 0111 is dangerous and can be deadly.  It's the bacterium that's been linked to Locust Grove's Country Cottage and has sickened more than 200 people.

It's now being called the largest outbreak of its kind, but the Centers for Disease Control says the first outbreak was in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  Dozens got sick while attending cheerleading camp.  That outbreak was traced back to a contaminated salad bar.

In 1995, E. coli infected about 150 people in Australia.  A four-year-old girl died and 23 others developed severe renal failure, similar to some of the Green Country patients being treated at Saint Francis Hospital.

That outbreak was linked to mettwurst, an uncooked fermented sausage.

In Southern Finland, 600 students and 39 adults got sick in 1987.  Symptoms spread to more than 100 others after the school outbreak.   They never identified the source of those infections.

Meanwhile, state health officials are still trying to find the source of the Oklahoma outbreak.  The Country Cottage in Locust Grove remains closed.

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