Escherichia coli (E. coli) can be found in many places like intestines of people and animals that are harmless but some kinds of E. coli can cause illness, like Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) E.coli. Many people confuse E. coli 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 will give symptoms such as diarrhea (often bloody), vomiting, and stomach cramps. People can get it from contaminated food, water, or contact with infected animals. The only way to know for certain if you have E. coli 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 reportable disease 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.

Licking County Health Department (LCHD) monitors ODRS for any identification of a E. coli case. Once a case is identified, LCHD 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.

Anytime a food establishment was visited during a E. coli case’s incubation period, Licking County Health Department (LCHD) works to report this to the Environmental Health (EH) team responsible for inspecting that facility. This allows for the EH team to identify any patterns for potential issues to arise at that food establishment. If you have any questions regarding food safety or a food establishment, you may follow this link and find contact information for the LCHD EH team: Licking County Health Department Food Safety Program.