The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed several cases of a foodborne illness linked to E-coli on the Fond du Lac reservation.
Between six and 12 people have come down with symptoms of E-coli poisoning over the last week.
The Department of Health is still investigating the source of the E-coli contamination and does not know the strain of the outbreak.
For all the bragging the California Leafy Greens Marketing folks do, you’d think like anyone serving food, they should take responsibility and man-up when their product is implicated in a foodborne outbreak.
No one is saying it’s California leafy greens, but Applebee’s restaurant officials have removed the chain’s popular Oriental Chicken Salad from the menu in Minnesota after at least seven diners fell ill with a rare strain of E. coli food poisoning.
The Applebee’s cases are among 13 reports of E. coli O111 infections in the state all tied to the same genetic strain of the bug — one that has not previously been seen in the U.S. In addition, two more cases have been reported in two other unidentified states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The six remaining cases in Minnesota appear to have no connection with Applebee’s, health officials said. Four of those sickened were hospitalized. Restaurant officials are cooperating fully with officials and pulled the salad and other ingredients included from the menu as a precaution.
Ricky Bobby’s favorite restaurant chain, Applebee’s, is connected to multiple E. coli O111 illnesses but according to health officials, the restaurant is not the sole source of the outbreak. The Minnesota Department of Health sent out a press release detailing an investigation into 13 cases of E. coli O111 which looks like a vendor-linked outbreak. 
While seven of the people with E. coli O111 infections reported eating at Applebee’s restaurants in Minnesota between June 24 and 27, there are multiple cases with no apparent connection to the restaurant. Applebee’s is cooperating fully with the investigation, and as a precaution volunteered to remove the Oriental Chicken salad from menus at all its Minnesota restaurants while the investigation continues. The restaurant is also removing specific ingredients of its Oriental Chicken salad from other items on its menu out of an abundance of caution. Health officials are still working with Applebee’s, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and other regulatory partners to determine the cause of the outbreak.
Health officials say anyone who visited a Minnesota Applebee’s since June 20 and has symptoms of E. coli O111 infection (particularly bloody diarrhea) should contact their health care provider immediately and inform them of their possible involvement in this outbreak. MDH also asks that they contact the department’s foodborne illness hotline at 1-877-FOOD-ILL (1-877-366-3455) to report the potential connection.
Four of the 13 people who became ill were hospitalized, and all have recovered or are recovering.
Eric and Karen Odens’ little girl, Sophia, got sick with flu-like symptoms Feb. 5. The following morning, the Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, couple brought their daughter to the hospital in Detroit Lakes because the symptoms had gone from bad to worse.
On Feb. 11 — a day after her fourth birthday — Sophia died of E. coli bacteria infection.
“They aren’t sure where it came from. They have some speculation, but nothing for sure,” said Dave Johnson, a friend who is organizing a benefit for the family.
While Karen was with her daughter at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, S.D., she became sick with the same symptoms.
“They are speculating that she got it from Sophia,” Johnson said.
Karen was hospitalized for 34 days, with 14 of those days in intensive care in Sioux Falls. She went through kidney dialysis and plasma exchange while in the hospital.
Though she is home now, Karen’s battle isn’t over. She continues treatments and has been unable to return to work.
“There is permanent damage to her kidneys, and she will probably eventually need a kidney transplant,” Johnson said.
According to Johnson, the family’s medical bills have grown to more than $1 million, and roughly 20 per cent of that is not covered by insurance.
From the hospital in Detroit Lakes, Sophia was transferred to Sanford Health in Fargo, and after two days of tests, doctors determined that she had E. Coli, strain O157:H7, which brings on hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a life-threatening form of kidney failure that caused her kidneys to shut down.
That night, Feb. 7, she was airlifted to Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls, where she had multiple surgeries and kidney dialysis.
She died four days later.
Sophia’s obituary describes her as “a very artistic little girl who loved to paint and draw pictures. She enjoyed playing My Little Ponies and spending lazy summer days down at the beach with mom.
“She loved to sing and dance and play dress up, especially with her doctor’s uniform, helping stuffed animals and her dog, Buddy, feel better.
“She was daddy’s little girl, who liked when he painted her nails and in return would have a game of floor hockey.”
After graduating from Detroit Lakes High School in 1997, Karen attended North Dakota State University for pharmacy. She graduated in 2003 and interned at Pelican Drug in Pelican Rapids. She continued to work there until her illness.
She and Eric have been married for seven years. Sophia was their only child.
Johnson said Karen is still battling her health issues, being hospitalized four times in the last month or so. He said she has tried to return to work twice, working only for a couple of hours, but it took such a toll on her that the next day she would need to be on oxygen.
The family has no idea if or when she’ll be able to return to work.
While Karen was sick, Eric stayed with her, and he now takes her to medical appointments. Johnson said the family income has obviously shifted greatly in the last several months, hence the benefit Johnson is organizing.
The benefit Friday includes a meal and bake sale at Faith Lutheran Church in Pelican Rapids, and later auctions, raffles and live music at the Pelican Supper Club.
“Our goal is to get 500 people to both events,” he said.
The Minnesota Department of Health is, according to the Brainerd Dispatch, investigating possible foodborne illnesses after some people got sick after a Nisswa Lion’s Club meeting.
The March 24 Lion’s club meeting was conducted at the Nisswa Community Center. Food was served by the regular caterer, Red, White and Blue Catering of 
Nisswa, said Lion’s club president Duane Blanck.
The investigation is ongoing, said Doug Schultz, of the Communications Department at the Minnesota Department of Health.
“We don’t have much yet,” he said.
Schultz said the department received a complaint that some people who ate at the meeting have experienced symptoms of a possible foodborne illness.
The exact number of those sick was not available Monday, though Schultz said 35 people ate at the buffet-style meal. The Department of Health doesn’t have the complete list of food items yet.
A salmonella outbreak at an Old Country Buffet in Maple Grove sickened 23 people, causing one diner to be hospitalized for about two weeks, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
The outbreak affected people who ate at the restaurant in late January, particularly on Jan. 25, said Doug Schultz, a health department spokesman. 
Sick diners were of a broad age range and one middle-aged diner was hospitalized.
The health department didn’t give out further details. An investigation is ongoing.
Three Minnesota residents have become ill with confirmed E. coli O157:H7 infections after contact with animals at Dehn’s Pumpkins in Dayton, MN, the Minnesota Department of Health reported today.
The three cases were all children, ranging in age from 15 months to 7 years and are residents of the Twin Cities metro area. One child is hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious 
complication of an E. coli infection characterized by kidney failure. The others were not hospitalized and are recovering. Routine monitoring by the health department identified the E. coli O157:H7 cases, which all have bacterial isolates with the same DNA fingerprint. These cases visited the farm on October 12 or 13, and became ill on October 16 or 18.
The Minnesota Department of Health is in the process of following up with any groups that visited the farm in order to help determine if more people have become ill. At this time, two additional people have reported symptoms consistent with E. coli O157:H7 infection and are currently being tested. These people visited Dehn’s on October 18, raising concern that exposures also could have occurred after the weekend of October 12-13.
All of the cases reported having contact with cattle and/or goats at Dehn’s. The farm owners have been cooperating fully with the investigation and public access to the cattle and goat areas is being prohibited. The rest of the farm, including the pumpkin patch, remains open for business.
A table of petting zoo related outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/petting-zoos-outbreaks.
Minnesota state health and agriculture officials reported today that routine disease surveillance has detected at least six illnesses linked to consumption of raw dairy products from the Dennis Jaloszyski dairy farm, near Cambridge, Minnesota.
According to epidemiologists with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the illnesses include three people with laboratory confirmation of a bacterium called Campylobacter jejuni. The illnesses were reported to 
MDH by health care providers as required under Minnesota law. When MDH contacted the individuals to inquire about potential causes of their illnesses, the ill people reported that they had consumed raw milk from the Jaloszynski Farm.
Minnesota Department of Agriculture inspectors visited the farm to determine how many customers were purchasing the milk to notify them of the outbreak. Because the owner did not have a customer list, a consumer advisory is being issued. Anyone who may have purchased or received raw milk from this farm should not drink it but should throw it away.
“We’re concerned that people may be continuing to get sick after consuming products from this farm,” said Trisha Robinson, a foodborne illness epidemiologist with MDH.
“While we are very concerned about the illnesses associated with this farm, this also is about the inherent risk for foodborne illness from any raw milk consumption,” Robinson said. “Drinking raw milk or eating products made from raw milk can expose you to a variety of pathogens that can result in anything from a few days of diarrhea to kidney failure and death. People need to think carefully about those risks before consuming raw dairy products from any source, and people need to know that the risks are especially high for young children.”
At least 25 Minnesotans have been sickened with salmonellosis linked to eating a raw Mexican-style cheese, queso fresco, state health officials said. The outbreak illustrates the dangers of consuming unpasteurized dairy products.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the City of Minneapolis have been investigating the 
outbreak and the source of the raw milk used to make the cheese since the first cases were detected in late April.
MDH confirmed 18 cases of infection with the same strain of Salmonella. An additional seven cases of illness occurred among family members or other contacts of confirmed cases, but no laboratory specimens were available. The individuals became ill between March 28 and April 24. Of the 25 cases, 15 were hospitalized. All have recovered. Many cases reported eating unpasteurized queso fresco purchased or received from an individual who made the product in a private home. Investigators have determined that the individual made home deliveries and also may have sold the product on a street corner near the East Lake Street area of Minneapolis.
Anyone who may have purchased or received this product recently should not eat it but should throw it away.
Samples of unpasteurized queso fresco collected from the cheese maker were found to contain the same strain of Salmonella as the illnesses. Investigators determined that the milk used to make the cheese was purchased by the cheese maker from a Dakota County farm. Unpasteurized milk samples collected at the farm were also found to match the outbreak strain.
Dr. Heidi Kassenborg, director of MDA’s Dairy and Food Inspection Division, said the outbreak underscores the dangers of consuming unpasteurized dairy products. “It only takes a few bacteria to cause illness. Milking a cow is not a sterile process and even the cleanest dairy farms can have milk that is contaminated. That’s why pasteurization – or the heat treatment of milk to kill the harmful pathogens – is so important,” said Kassenborg.
Minnesota law allows consumers to purchase raw milk directly from the farm for their own consumption, but it may not be further distributed or sold. Additionally, cheese production facilities need to follow proper food safety laws and regulations, including licensure.
Dr. Carlota Medus said the outbreak may be over, as there are no suspect cases pending. However, it may still be possible to see additional cases that have not been reported yet from people who consumed cheese prior to health officials’ interventions, which occurred April 23-26.
While this particular outbreak may be over, MDA and MDH officials are concerned that this may not be an isolated incident: that there may be other instances of people buying foods like unpasteurized queso fresco prepared by neighbors, friends or family. “It’s important for people to be aware of the inherent risk of consuming any raw dairy product from any source,” Medus said. “We encourage people to think carefully about those risks and know that the risks are especially high for young children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.”
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) investigators have linked three cases of salmonellosis (illness due to infection with Salmonella bacteria) to ducklings purchased from the Tractor Supply Company store in Inver Grove Heights. The cases are associated with a multi-state 
outbreak of salmonellosis being investigated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The ill Minnesotans ranged in age from 18 years to 60 years. All three cases were caused by Salmonella Infantis, which has been previously associated with poultry. The cases occurred from late March through early April 2013.
While the cases shared the same type of Salmonella, any chick or duck can carry a variety of Salmonella strains. MDH State Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Joni Scheftel said the outbreak underscores the importance of washing your hands thoroughly after handling chicks, ducklings or other birds.