For our user agree- ment, click here . And DNA tests match the samples conclusively to the outbreak that has sickened at least 32 people, including three young children who required dialysis for kidney failure. State and county authorities said they planned to continue the ban against swimming, boating and fishing at Battle Ground Lake until spring while they and state public health investigators decide what needs to be done to make sure the water is safe. Authorities closed the lake Aug. 28 after discovering that several victims swam there but had no other likely, common source of infection. People sickened by E. coli typically suffer severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea that may turn bloody.
Toxins produced by the bacteria can poison the kidneys.
The laboratory findings don't explain how the disease-causing bacteria got into the water, but investigators presume that human fecal matter containing E. coli contaminated the swimming area. In the Battle Ground Lake outbreak, three-fourths of the victims were children younger than 10. Seven required hospitalization, Steingart said. But 17 co-workers at Northwest Container Services each donated a day of their vacation time. Bobbi Jean is likely to be released this weekend, according to a hospital spokeswoman.