OK family reports symptoms of E. coli after eating spinach

Thursday, October 19th 2006, 9:48 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An Oklahoma City couple believes their 2-year-old daughter may have contracted E- coli after drinking a spinach drink but doctors say medical tests are inconclusive.

The bacteria sickened 199 people in 26 states and killed three last month. It was traced back to tainted spinach.

Shannon Schulz says she thinks spinach smoothies she made in September with bagged Dole-brand spinach contained a toxic strain of E. Coli.

Her daughter Eliza is being treated for kidney failure at The Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center but an E. Coli test by the state Health Department was negative.

Everyone in the Schulz family developed E. Coli symptoms except 4-year-old Zoe who didn't drink any of the smoothie while Eliza drank the most.

Eliza is on dialysis and doctors say it could be another month before her kidneys start working on their own. If she has no kidney function by then she'll be placed on a kidney transplant list.