‘Timing couldn’t have been better’ 40 sickened with E. coli O157 at Richey reunion

It was supposed to be unforgettable, but for some who attended the Richey, Montana, Centennial last month, it was unforgettable for the wrong reasons.

Richey1Around 40 people from 10 states reported they had been infected with E. coli O157.

At least seven were hospitalized, and six Montana counties have been affected.

“If you had to have a foodborne outbreak, the timing couldn’t have been better,” says Jennifer Fladager, Dawson Co. Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.

Fladager had relatives who attended the celebration. She says staff members were prepared for this outbreak.

“We were aquatically trained and prepared for something like this. It’s rather ironic, we were just at a public health summer institute and we went over how to properly conduct case interviews with foodborne illness,” says Fladager.

Investigators say they have nearly completed their investigation and are working with the caterer to determine how the meal became contaminated.

At least 30 sick: E. coli strikes Montana town

Aja Goare of KTVQ reports the Dawson County Health Department is investigating an outbreak of E. coli at the Richey Centennial that sickened more than 30 people.

richey.montanaThe event took place the third weekend in July in Richey, which is about 50 miles north of Glendive.

Health officials do not know exactly where the outbreak originated, but they believe it may have originated with a local food vendor present at the event.

According to the DCHD, the vendors have been cooperating with the investigation.

People who attended the event are discouraged from consuming any leftover food they may have from the event and are asked to turn it over to the local health department.

At least six of the people who became ill have been hospitalized.

Visitors from eight different states and six Montana counties have become ill, according to the DCHD.

New cases are still being reported and additional laboratory results are pending.

On a Facebook page created for the event, a Nevada woman who attended reported that her mother had been hospitalized for several days due to the illness.