E. coli O157:H7 is a particular strain of E. coli that causes a severe intestinal infection in humans. It is the most common strain to cause illness in people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) believes that E. coli O157:H7 causes an estimated 97,000 illnesses in the United States each year. Many people confuse E. coli O157:H7 with “the stomach flu,” “food poisoning,” or other foodborne illnesses because it spreads and presents itself very similarly making it difficult to identify cases. E. coli O157:H7 will give symptoms such as severe bloody diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps and sometimes more serious conditions such as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS can lead to kidney failure and death.  People can get E. coli O157:H7 from undercooked ground beef, contaminated surfaces, drinking raw milk. or contact with infected animals. The only way to know for certain if you have E. coli O157:H7 is to get tested, which is important to ensure you receive the treatment you need (despite many clearing the infection with some rest and hydration) and prevent others from getting sick.

Cases of E. Coli, Shiga Toxin-Producing (O157:H7) in the state of Ohio are reported by providers and laboratories to local health departments using a system called Ohio Disease Report System (ODRS). This allows for local health departments (LHDs) to accurately monitor and investigate any case of disease requiring follow-up, isolation/exclusion, or guidance to prevent further transmission. This also allows LHDs to collect accurate data on how many cases of certain disease they have in their county to create graphs like the one you see! Using data from previous years, public health professionals can create threshold data to get a detailed prediction of what is “normal” for their county during a specific period.

Marion Public Health (MPH) monitors ODRS for any identification of an E. coli O157:H7 case. Once a case is identified, MPH will work to collect necessary contact information for the case and give them a call. An interview is conducted asking questions about symptoms, illness duration, food exposure, and any other risk factors to ensure the transmission risk is low. This also allows the health department to track any patterns and catch an outbreak (if applicable) in the early stages to prevent others from getting sick. If you would like to report an illness from a food facility, you may follow this link: Food Illness Complaint

Anytime a food establishment was visited during a E. coli O157:H7 case’s incubation period, Marion Public Health (MPH) works to report this to the Environmental Health (EH) team. If deemed necessary, the EH will then do an inspection on the food establishment to ensure all rules and regulations are being followed. This allows for the EH team to identify any patterns for potential issues to arise at that food establishment.