I landed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and made the hour and a half drive to Pinedale – seeing a few bison along the way.
A total of 33 people infected with the outbreak strain of STEC O103 (8 people), STEC O121 (21 people), or both (4 people) were reported from 8 states.
Illnesses started on dates ranging from March 18, 2019, to August 11, 2019. Ill people ranged in age from 6 to 80 years, with a median age of 27. Fifty-two percent of ill people were female. Of 31 ill people with information available, 18 hospitalizations were reported. No deaths were reported, and no cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure, have been reported.
Federal, state, and local officials collected records from the restaurants where ill people ate ground bison. These records showed that the ground bison produced by Northfork Bison Distributions, Inc., was sold in several restaurants where ill people ate ground bison. The outbreak strain of STEC O121 was isolated from bison burgers manufactured by the Canadian firm.
On July 16, 2019, Northfork Bison Distributions, Inc., in Saint-Leonard, Quebec, Canada, recalled ground bison produced between February 22, 2019, and April 30, 2019. Recalled ground bison was sold to distributors as ground bison and bison patties, referred to as Bison Burgers and/or Buffalo Burgers. Recalled ground bison was also sold to retailers in 4-ounce burger patties.