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Outbreak Following Cleveland County Fair Affects 106 Individuals
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
For Release: Immediate
Date: October 19, 2012
Contact: Julie Henry, 919-855-4840 or Julie.Henry@dhhs.nc.gov
Raleigh – RALEIGH - Public health officials in the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services point to animal contact as a likely source of an E. coli outbreak at the Cleveland County Fair. As of Friday, October 19, 64 children and 42 adults are known to be/have been affected by this outbreak. Twelve individuals have been or are currently hospitalized, including one child who died from complications related to E. coli.
“While we are making progress in our investigation, we have not yet determined a specific cause,” State Health Director Laura Gerald said. “We may not be able to pinpoint a single source, but hope to have more conclusive results within a month. Our goal throughout this investigation is to identify how to prevent similar outbreaks and deaths in the future.”
State and local public health workers have been gathering information since the outbreak began on October 7, including interviews with patients and families and additional interviews with more than 150 people who attended the fair but did not get sick to narrow the list of potential sources. The investigation also has included environmental sampling and geographical analysis at the fairgrounds as well as laboratory testing.
“Our local health departments have been critical in helping to gather that information and in communicating in their own communities about the outbreak,” Gerald said. “I can’t say enough how much we appreciate the long hours their staffs have worked and their cooperation.”
Cases have been identified from Cleveland (61), Catawba (1), Gaston (18), Lincoln (14), Mecklenburg (1), Rutherford (4) and Union (3) counties in North Carolina, and York (2) and Cherokee (2) counties in South Carolina. One hundred and five individuals are identified as having had direct exposure at the Cleveland County Fair; one individual is believed to have contracted the infection after the fair ended.
The incubation period, or the time it takes for a person who has been exposed to become ill, has passed, but the numbers may continue to increase for several days as people seek medical attention and reports are sent in. Public health officials expect the number of cases associated directly with the fair will soon stop growing, but it is possible that secondary cases (passed from person to person) may appear for several more weeks.
“We still want to encourage anyone who is experiencing symptoms and who attended the Cleveland County Fair to contact their health care provider or the local health department,” Gerald said. “If someone you know is sick, it is important to know that the infection is not airborne; it is passed by touching objects contaminated with the bacteria and then touching your mouth.”
Person-to-person transmission can be prevented by washing hands thoroughly and often, especially before eating or preparing food, and disinfecting surfaces in the household where the sick person is recuperating.
For more information about E. coli and for updates on the investigation, visit http://epi.publichealth.nc.gov/cd/diseases/ecoli.html
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