Past News: During and after November, 1996, I am sure that you heard about the outbreak of O157:H7 E. coli in Canada, the Northwest and West (US). The outbreak has been traced to ingestion of a popular brand of non-pasteurized apple juice (Odwalla, Inc.). I believe that one 16 month-old child has died in Colorado as a result of the illness caused by this bacterium, and a fairly large number of people were made severely ill (40) in British Columbia, California, Colorado, and Washington. This brand of apple juice is distributed to: Washington, California, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Idaho, and British Columbia. As of November 12, 1996, there is a call for legislation which will require that all apple juice be pasteurized - just as milk is required to be pasteurized. Louis Pasteur developed a process whereby milk is treated with heat (63C for 30 minute - older method) to kill harmful bacteria (will not kill spores), but nowadays milk and other pasteurized products produced in large quantities are often treated by a modification of the older method. This process, called flash pasteurization, involves exposure of milk and other liquid products to at least 72C (approx. 162F) for at least 15 seconds, with rapid cooling. As of July 23, 1996, there had been about 8,000 cases of an EHEC strain affecting people in a city in Japan. According to an email contact from Mr. John Harrington in Osaka, who wrote: "The Ashahi Evening Newspaper (Wed., July 24 edition), [states that as of] Tuesday, 8444 people throughout Japan have developed O157-like symptoms. More than 6000 of them are in Sakai, a suburb of Osaka. The outbreak has now spread to 40 of 47 prefectures (the equivalent of US counties), and the number of victims seems to increase steadily at about 100 [per] day. Most recently, a 10 year old girl and a 85 year old woman died." From news reports it is my understanding that over 600 children have become infected, and almost 60 of them are in critical condition - with the uremic syndrome mentioned above. So far, the authorities cannot locate the source of the contamination - school lunches, they think. Unfortunately, when the outbreak among school children in Sakai initially occurred, the remaining lunches were destroyed - so - there are no samples from which to try to isolate the organism (locate the source of contamination). I do not know if this strain is O157:H7 - there are several different verotoxin-like expressing strains of E. coli, several of which have been identified in Japan... each numbered in a similar fashion. Hopefully, the Japanese health workers will be able to locate the source of the problem, and the children will be OK. End News What does all of this information have to do with hamburger meat, or other food products? We'll talk about meat products first. Unless there is a cut in the meat, the meat below the surface is normally sterile (unless there is some intracellular organism present). However, whether or not some intracellular bug is around, the outside surfaces of all meat will have bacteria present - so - if some meat happens to be contaminated with the rare E.coli strain, O157:H7, it will be on the surface of the meat, and not down inside the fibers of the meat. However, as soon as the meat is cut with a knife or punctured with a fork, the knife blade or fork tine will carry the bacterial cells down into the cut or puncture - usually, such a situation is relatively safe because we cook the meat - certainly we cook the surface of the meat. Remember though, bacteria are _really_ small, so even a tiny, pretty much invisible cut in the meat could introduce bacteria down inside. In the case of E.coli O157:H7, the total number of bacteria required for infection appears to be about 10 - that's right, only 10 bacterial cells! Therefore, it is always safest to cook _all_ meat at least until the juices of the meat run absolutely clear - not pink - clear. Now, if the meat is ground (we call it hamburger if it's ground beef) we have a much more risky situation because any bacterial cells originally only on the surface of the meat, will _now_ be distributed _throughout_ the preparation. It is _very_ important in this case to thoroughly cook the meat - until the juices run absolutely clear. Actually, the latest recommendation is that each hamburger pattie must reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Apparently, viable (living) E. coli have been isolated from hamburger meat cooked to the point of "juices running clear". This procedure is very similar to that one would use to cook pork or perhaps a Thanksgiving turkey, e.g., observe the internal temperature of the meat before it is served. Just remember, if you like your meat and especially hamburgers, "rare", you are taking a significant risk. It is also important to realize that meat may not be the only source of contamination with such bacteria or other dangerous bacteria - any contaminated water source or contaminated person can load these bacteria onto vegetables, etc. So, it is a good idea to be careful with everything - wash fresh fruit, vegetables, etc., thoroughly before eating. This last statement is very important, since as mentioned above, recent cases of O157:H7 infection have been found associated with non-pasteurized apple juice. This organism is apparently spreading around and about. So, it is important to be vigilant and aware. What do I do if I or someone in my family gets sick after eating hamburger or something else - or for that matter, just gets sick? No matter when, - if diarrhea occurs, always pay close attention to the symptoms... look for the presence of fever, vomiting, etc., particularly if the person is an infant, a small child, or an elderly or infirm adult. Look for any signs of blood in the stool. If you see anything that worries you, call your physician immediately - don't worry about the possibility of being mistaken and perhaps looking "silly." The organism is difficult to identify [recommended method is to use a genetic probe - associates with the toxin's(s) gene sequence(s)] - so - be as patient as possible - treatment will be given for the symptoms and treatment will be given to help rid the person of the infection