Marler Clark investigated an E. coli O103 and E. coli O121 outbreak found in ground bison products.
The CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency also investigated this multistate outbreak of E. coli O103 and E. coli O121 infections.
As of July 12, 2019, a total of 21 people infected with the outbreak strains of E. coli O103 (6 people), E. coli O121 (13 people), or both (2 people) had been reported from 7 states - Missouri, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Illnesses started on dates from March 18, 2019, to June 18, 2019. Ill people ranged in age from 6 to 79 years, with a median age of 25. Fifty-two percent of ill people were female. Of 17 people with information available, 8 (47%) had been hospitalized. No deaths and no cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure, had been reported.
Illnesses that occurred after June 22, 2019, may had not yet been reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill with E. coli and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of two to three weeks.
Epidemiologic and traceback information indicated that ground bison produced by Northfork Bison Distributions, Inc., was the likely source of this outbreak.
In interviews, ill people answered questions about the foods they ate and other exposures in the week before they became ill. Of 9 people with available information, 6 (67%) people reported that they ate or maybe ate ground bison. Ill people ate ground bison in burgers from several different restaurants or prepared ground bison at home.
Regulatory 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.
On July 16, 2019, Northfork Bison Distributions, Inc. in Saint-Leonard, Quebec, Canada, recalled ground bison and bison patties (referred to as Bison Burgers and/or Buffalo Burgers) produced between February 22, 2019, and April 30, 2019. Investigation of this outbreak is now over.