One person has died and 11 others sent to hospital as Alberta Health Services expands its investigation into the source of a recent outbreak of E. coli in Edmonton.
The number of lab-confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 has increased to 34, including 11 patients who required hospital care, AHS said Friday in a news release.
The health authority said it no longer has public health concerns related to Mama Nita’s Binalot restaurant, though 21 of the lab-confirmed cases were linked to the restaurant since the E. coli outbreak surfaced in late March.
Nora Romero was diagnosed with E. coli after eating food at the restaurant.
She said she doesn’t know the person who died but was shocked to hear the news.
“That’s unbelievable,” she said. “I feel sorry for the family. Thank God that I passed through that but it was horrible, horrible pain and disgusting and I don’t want to go through… that thing ever, ever again.”
More cases of a serious strain of E. coli have been linked to food served at Mama Nita’s Binalot restaurant, AHS says. (Google Street View)
“At this time, we have not identified the source of these cases, however we do believe they are linked to the initial outbreak,” AHS said in Friday’s news release.
The health authority did not provide further details about the person who died, but said that case was not linked to food from the restaurant.
“This outbreak is extremely complex,” said Dr. Chris Sikora, medical officer of health for the Edmonton zone. “AHS, in partnership with other provincial and federal agencies, is doing all we can to protect the health of Albertans. The risk of illness remains very low.”
Anyone who has symptoms of E. coli should contact Health Link by dialing 811. The predominant symptom is diarrhea, which may be bloody. In severe forms of the disease, a form of kidney failure can develop.
Symptoms usually start one to 10 days after eating food contaminated with E. coli bacteria. Children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are at greater risk of complications from this strain of E. coli, AHS said.
The owners of Mama Nita’s Binalot worked closely with the health authority after officials learned that a cluster of people with lab-confirmed illnesses had eaten at the restaurant, AHS said.
“The owners have taken significant steps to manage this issue, including voluntarily closing until AHS was confident the restaurant could reopen without presenting a risk to the public,” AHS said.
Public health staff and the restaurant owner and staff have increased safety measures, AHS said, including increased hand washing, food safety re-education for staff, some minor renovations, and closely monitoring food handling practices.
E. coli infections are generally caused when a person eats food or drinks water that is contaminated with human or animal feces, or through direct contact with someone who is sick.