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The outbreak of E. coli caused by the San Diego County Fair survived the event itself.
Although the annual seaside celebration ended with a mbadive fire on Thursday night, July 4th, the county's public health department announced two other probable infections early Friday afternoon, the 5th. July.
Among them was a 4-year-old girl who is the second child to be hospitalized after traveling animal shows at the Del Mar exhibition grounds. The child went to the fair on June 21 and became ill on June 29th.
Today, with seven cases of infection, the epidemic could reach double digits this weekend as the Ministry of Health investigates three other cases.
For the moment, it is not clear whether it is the fair's petting zoo or its large breeding areas where infections have occurred. Experts say that in a few weeks, the results of the tests based on DNA will bring additional clarity.
Meanwhile, the national outbreak that triggered the San Diego outbreak has already had a tangible effect further north.
Terry Moore, communications director for the Orange County Fair and Event Center, said the San Diego E. coli experience had clearly informed the organization's plans for its own 23-day race, which should begin July 12th.
Although there is no plan to close the breeding areas or to pausing a petting zoo, Mr. Moore explained that the current difficulties in San Diego have prompted the installation of A greater number of hand-washing stations than usual and the reconfiguration of certain animal exposures washing areas.
It is also planned to employ a larger number of roving officers carrying big buttons "Wash your hands" and intervene on a case by case basis in cases where people decide to do so. ignore the warning signs and get closer to animals anyway.
"We have already put in place some of the strictest E.coli management protocols in the country, but we are now adding another layer," Moore said.
Some might ask: Given the troubles that San Diego has experienced, why not just cancel animal events?
Moore said that would go against the main mission of the fair, which, despite what some might think, is not to make funnel cakes or midway rides.
"The reason we exist is to educate people about agriculture," Moore said. "Animals are an important part of our agricultural heritage and we want to continue to have animals to educate the public in the safest possible way."
In southern San Diego, epidemiologists continue to follow the spread of E. Shiga-toxin producing coli, a variant of the bacterium often referred to by the acronym STEC.
Dr. Eric McDonald, Medical Director of the County's Department of Epidemiology and Immunization Services, could say little Friday afternoon, July 5, on the medical reasons for the current hospitalization of this 4-year-old child. He said that she was not suffering from hemolytic uremic syndrome, the severe kidney complication that contributed to the death of 2-year-old Jedidiah King Cabezuela on June 24th.
The second case added to the total on Friday involved a 2-year-old girl who visited the fair on June 22 and became ill on June 26. The two new cases are currently clbadified as "probable" because the bacterial cultures needed to confirm E. coli infections the presence is not yet complete.
Anyone whose child has been infected during the outbreak wants to know where the infections have specifically occurred in the fairground, but it is unlikely that an answer to this question will be available soon.
Environmental health inspectors collected samples of animals and the surrounding environment, which were sent to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for badysis. Comparing genetic fingerprints generated by these tests with similar badyzes of STEC bacteria found in each child will be the best way to reduce the search to individual areas of the fairground or to individual animals. But the test results are not expected for at least several weeks.
Legal proceedings followed in other states where children died after visiting animal shows at fairs. Until now, there is no reason to expect legal action. By Friday, July 5 afternoon, the fair council had not received any claims for damage related to E. coli. Claims must generally be filed before filing a lawsuit against a government agency such as the 22nd Agricultural District Association, which runs the fair.
The fair's board of directors intends to review its policies regarding animal activities, said spokeswoman Annie Pierce, but this will wait until the results of the test are known.
"Once we have some conclusions, our team will definitely meet to discuss next steps," said Pierce.
Nobody understands the legal landscape of food poisoning better than Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer known to represent a long list of children and adults who have contracted harmful infections. Marler, who said he represents no customer at the San Diego Fair, explained that these types of cases often came back to whether a fair closely followed the recommendations included in a compendium of best practices related to animals. National Association of Public Health State. Veterinarians.
"Most of the time, the fair does some things, but it does not necessarily respect everything in the compendium," said Marler.
Fair officials have publicly stated that they have tried to meet recognized standards, to the extent possible, including numerous warning signs, regular pen cleaning, dozens of hand-washing stations and attendants outside the zoo to remember need to scrub.
Although the death of a 2-year-old boy and the infections that occurred in a place so much loved and high traffic, such as the Del Mar Fairgrounds, attract the kind of attention that may suggest that 's a contagion is in progress, the data only show that is the case.
San Diego County updated its STEC infection totals last week and they showed that there were more confirmed cases in June 2018 than there were had the same month this year. And July 2018 eclipsed any other month of one or the other year, which shows that cases of E. Coli are simply more common in the summer, whether they are held at the fair or not.
– Paul Sisson is a reporter for the San Diego Union Tribune
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