Community dinners, the fellowship-fostering events often organized by churches are a nostalgic link to the past when a congregation would financially support members’ activities through chili, pancakes or barbecue. They also, according to CDC’s Rob Tauxe, have created some of the easily traced foodborne illness outbreaks. Like this 2013 outbreak in North Carolina.

And it looks like something really bad happened recently at a Morgan County, Alabama church dinner. According to WAFF, at least 19 illnesses including a death are being investigated. The affected folks ate a catered chicken meal at an unnamed church. 

The State Health Department is investigating a potential foodborne outbreak in Morgan County. One person is confirmed dead. There are currently two confirmed cases.

There has been 19 reports of gastro-intestinal illnesses at three local hospitals. So far, two of those have tested positive for E. coli, Salmonella, or both, and the person who died had E. coli poisoning.

An epidemiologist with the Alabama Department of Public Health, Doctor Mary McIntyre, said they are looking for a common source, and they need to test more specimens. There is one common thread with several of the patients who had gastro-intestinal illnesses, and that’s that several of them ate a catered chicken meal at a church in Morgan County on May 30.

The health department wants us to tell anyone who has been asked by them to provide a specimen to please consider it, because they are having a tough time getting the number they need for testing.

There is one common thread with several of the patients who had gastro-intestinal illnesses, and that’s that several of them ate a catered chicken meal at a church in Morgan County on May 30.

Sorta odd that two pathogens are involved in the same event. A list of outbreaks linked to community dinners and temporary events can be found here.