Alberta Health Services (AHS) has not been able to isolate the cause of the latest outbreak of E. coli in Alberta, according to AHS Medical Officer of Health for the Calgary Zone Dr. Richard Musto.
“We haven’t figured out how (the cases) are connected, so there’s a team of public health inspectors working on it,” he said.
“What we do with any case of E. coli is we contact the individual and go through a careful history of what they’ve eaten, where they’ve eaten, have they been travelling and so on.”
“That’s expanded somewhat when you have an outbreak so we might modify our usual questionnaire and then we would contact any restaurant that’s identified and go through what ingredients they put in their meals, particularly those that have been identified by the cases,” he explained.
“We’ve done that and haven’t come up with a smoking gun yet. We haven’t identified a single ingredient or group of ingredients that seem to be causative.”
“Until we can identify a common factor, there’s really nothing we can do to control the outbreak,” he added.
There have been 63 reported cases of E. Coli in the Calgary Zone since July 15, according to AHS. Bruce Conway, senior media relations advisor for the Calgary Zone said statistics are not kept for Airdrie or Rocky View County specifically.
The Calgary Zone includes the city of Calgary, Claresholm to Didsbury, Gleichen to Banff National Park and everything in between.
A total of 130 cases of E. coli have been reported in Alberta since July 15. Musto said AHS considers this number to constitute an outbreak.
“Under the Public Health Act, an outbreak is defined by an unusual situation. It might be unusual by number of cases or unusual in the groups involved or where the cases are coming from,” Musto said.
“Just a few cases could constitute an outbreak if it were associated with a restaurant or a group of people at a party or something like that.”
The symptoms of E. coli may first appear to be similar to those of a bad case of the influenza or gastroenteritis, according to Musto. Those with E. coli may experience abdominal pain, diarrhea that lasts for a few days, and bloody stool.
“Hopefully (people experiencing these symptoms) consider calling HealthLink. That’s a useful resource because they have a nurse on the line who goes through their symptoms and gives them advice about self management and also warning signs (to look for) that (might) suggest they should go to their doctor or to emergency,” Musto said.
Treatment for E. coli is mainly supportive, according to Musto.
“We don’t use antibiotics because they can actually prolong the symptoms without really helping and can sometimes make people sicker, so it’s a matter of resting and keeping up on fluids,” he explained.
“The main risk is becoming dehydrated.”
AHS recommends residents take the following precautions:
•Wash your hands with hot, soapy water often, particularly after a visit to the washroom, before preparing food, after touching raw meat, and after changing diapers.
•Cook beef to at least 71°C (160°F).
•Thoroughly wash vegetables and fruits before eating.
•Thoroughly wash all kitchen tools and surfaces that have touched raw meat.
•Use only pasteurized milk, dairy and juice products.
•Don’t use ice or drink tap water when travelling to countries that may have unsafe drinking water.
To call HealthLink, dial 1-866-408-5465.
