There’s something big going on in Alberta (that’s in Canada). Alberta Health Services is investigating over 120 cases of E. coli illnesses with no known source. Canadian Press reports that there have been 59 confirmed cases in Calgary, 48 cases in Edmonton as well as other cases across the province. It appears to be unrelated to an outbreak earlier this month linked to sprouts.
According to Global News,
Andrea Rohachuk says she fell victim to the illness after eating out at a southeast Calgary restaurant.
“It came on pretty quick,” she remembers. “I was in the hospital for about 10 hours before they sent me home, but definitely it was the sickest I’ve ever been in my whole life.
“I’ve maybe had a little bit of food poisoning, it kind of just goes through you, but [E. coli] was a thousand times worse than that.”
So far, a single cause behind the outbreak hasn’t been identified.
“It is too early. We’re in the middle of the investigation, and we hope we’ll be able to identify a common source if possible,” says Dr. Richard Musto, AHS Medical Officer of Health for the Calgary Zone. “We’ve got this increased number, so we’re trying to see are there any patterns, anything that would link one case to another.”