This is the same bacteria described earlier in this newsletter as a concern for pregnant women. This illness has traditionally been linked to contaminated food. The largest foodborne outbreak to date occurred in 1993 and involved over 600 cases in three states. One child died, several were hospitalized, and others remain on kidney dialysis as a result of eating undercooked contaminated hamburger. The symptoms include watery diarrhea, often progressing to bloody diarrhea, severe stomach pains, and sometimes fever and vomiting.
Symptoms occur within two to eight days after infection.
The illness lasts four to ten days. But the outbreak in the Spokane day care center is not the first reported. The children who became ill tested positive for this bacteria for up to 58 days, which means that these children could spread the bacteria in their feces for a period of almost two months. Contaminated hands can also touch toys that others will put in their mouth. To prevent the spread of this bacteria, wash hands very well with soap and warm water after going to the bathroom or diaper changing, prior to eating, and after handling raw meat.