Butte County Health Officer Dr. Mark Lundberg said Thursday that the number of cases of E. coli amongst the 300 or so who attended a barbecue fundraiser Sept. 6 in Forest Ranch to benefit the volunteer fire department has grown to 13.
One of the infected is a 6-year-old girl named Olivia. She and her family have been sick for several days. They learned of the E.coli outbreak on Action News at Eleven Wednesday night. Thursday afternoon, Olivia was airlifted to U.C. Davis Medical Center in Sacramento where she will be cared for in the pediatric intensive care unit. Her family says she was diagnosed with kidney decline, which could lead to kidney failure.
Olivia’s mother, Kimberli Titus says she, her daughter and her mother have made three trips to the emergency room this week. They have been extremely sick, and until seeing the story on Action News, they couldn’t figure out what was wrong. "She’s weaker, and weaker every day and she can’t even lift her head. And she does not feel well."
The food for the BBQ was purchased from Cash-N-Carry in Chico.
Health officials are still trying to determine what food made people sick. Among items on the menu at the barbecue were chicken, potato salad, beans, hot dogs, veggie burgers, chips and tri-tip, he said. People who became ill are being asked what they ate at the fundraiser.