1 Dead in California E. coli Outbreak Tied to Pumpkin Farm
One person has died in an E. coli outbreak linked to Brookshire Farms in San Luis Obispo County, California, health officials said. Three children needed intensive care. The farm reopened November 6, and county investigators have not found the source of the infections.
One person has died in an E. coli outbreak linked to Brookshire Farms, a pumpkin farm in San Luis Obispo County, California, county public health officials confirmed. Three children have needed pediatric intensive care.
Investigators have not found the source of the infections.
Authorities said five people had laboratory-confirmed E. coli O157 infections after visiting the farm on October 17 or 18. Ten more people who visited between October 16 and 26 developed matching symptoms.
Three children developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a serious complication that can damage the kidneys, and required intensive care.
A boy in critical condition
One of them, a boy named Camden, is in critical condition at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. He was diagnosed with HUS on October 27 after visiting the farm on October 17 and was moved there by emergency ambulance from a Santa Maria hospital.
His grandmother, Linda Strong-Foy, has posted regular updates on his condition. Between October 29 and 30 he was intubated and received multiple rounds of blood and platelet transfusions, she wrote, after severe confusion and brain scans for a possible stroke or seizure.
"He's on 5 blood pressure meds. An IV BP drip, 3 orals, and a BP patch," Strong-Foy said in a Facebook post on Monday.
No source found
The county's Department of Public Health collected water, food and other environmental samples at the farm. None tested positive for E. coli O157 specifically. Other bacteria, including other E. coli strains, turned up in some samples, but those results did not identify the source.
County Health Officer Dr. Christy Mulkerin said in a November 6 statement that the result was not unexpected. "Bacterial contamination is often temporary and difficult to detect through available sampling methods," she said.
The county had advised residents to wash their pumpkins and avoid touching carved ones. San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria then canceled their annual pumpkin smash events. Mulkerin later said the county did not mean to imply pumpkins were the source. "Please don't be afraid of pumpkins," she said.
Farm owner responds
Brookshire Farms closed voluntarily for 10 days while the investigation ran, then reopened on November 6. Co-owner Shawn Callaway said on that Friday, "I am destroyed."
Callaway said cleanliness is not a problem at the farm. He listed 17 restrooms that are cleaned regularly and pumped twice a week, 17 handwashing stations and eight sanitizing stations.
He said he does not believe the pumpkins caused the outbreak, because many victims had no contact with them. He also said the county never tested the pumpkins and told him they were outside its investigation area.
