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Temporally distinct Escherichia coli O157 outbreaks associated with alfalfa sprouts linked to a common seed source – Colorado and Minnesota, 2003

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2005

D. D. FERGUSON ,
J. SCHEFTEL ,
A. CRONQUIST ,
K. SMITH ,
A. WOO-MING ,
E. ANDERSON ,
J. KNUTSEN ,
A. K. DE  and
K. GERSHMAN
D. D. FERGUSON
Affiliation:
Epidemic Intelligence Service assigned to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO; and Office of Work Force and Career Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
J. SCHEFTEL
Affiliation:
Minnesota Department of Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA
A. CRONQUIST
Affiliation:
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO, USA
K. SMITH
Affiliation:
Minnesota Department of Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA
A. WOO-MING
Affiliation:
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO, USA
E. ANDERSON
Affiliation:
Minnesota Department of Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA
J. KNUTSEN
Affiliation:
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO, USA
A. K. DE
Affiliation:
Office of Work Force and Career Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
K. GERSHMAN
Affiliation:
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO, USA
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Abstract

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Escherichia coli O157 outbreaks were identified in Minnesota in February 2003 involving seven persons and in Colorado in July 2003 involving 13 persons. Case isolates from the two states had matching pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. Independent case-control studies linked infections in each outbreak with eating alfalfa sprouts that were traced to the same seed distributor. The Colorado sprouter reportedly complied with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sprout guidance, whereas the Minnesota sprouter did not. These investigations revealed that increased compliance with existing FDA guidance is needed and that additional research is needed to improve the alfalfa seed decontamination process. This reaffirms the FDA recommendation that raw alfalfa sprouts should be considered potentially contaminated and avoided by persons at high-risk such as the elderly, young children, and immunocompromised persons. PFGE played an essential role in linking these two temporally and geographically distinct E. coli O157 outbreaks.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 133 , Issue 3 , June 2005 , pp. 439 - 447
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press