The health department also confirmed that the number of infections traced to a single outbreak in Shubenacadie has increased to 30. Dr. Jeff Scott, the province's medical officer said there is no evidence of another outbreak. He said that the two cases appeared unrelated and that both victims were recovering.
Doctors are more likely to test because the topic is in the media.
We've alerted doctors to look for it. The article said that the outbreak in Hants County was traced to ham and potato salads plates sold to raise money for a Shubenacadie preschool on May 22. Scott said increased vigilance by doctors, as well as warm weather, meant it was not uncommon to have two unrelated cases reported in one week. The article noted that an E. coli infection is often called hamburger disease, because it is commonly caused by eating undercooked meat or contaminated food and that it can be passed from one person to another, so barbeques are a perfect breeding ground for the germs, whose growth is accelerated by heat. Scott said when people are barbecuing meat, they are more likely to place cooked meats, or salad, on plates which were covered with the juice of raw meat.